Vidya Balan ,Tamil: வித்யா பாலன், Malayalam: വിദ്യാ ബാലന്‍,Hindi: विद्या बालन, (born January 1, 1978) is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood movies.

Balan, who began her career starring in many music videos, soap operas and many commercials, made her acting debut in the Bengali film, Bhalo Theko (2003), for which she won critical acclaim. She later made her Hindi film debut with Parineeta (2005), for which she received a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award, and received her first commercial success with Rajkumar Hirani’s Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006). Balan has thus established herself as one of the most promising actresses of the industry.