Shweta Tiwari is an Indian television actress and model best known for her work in Hindi-language television serials. She rose to fame with the long-running soap opera Kasautii Zindagii Kay, in which she played the lead role of Prerna Sharma, and went on to win the inaugural season of the reality show Bigg Boss 4 in 2011.
| Full name | Shweta Tiwari |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | 4 October 1980 |
| Place of birth | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | Actress, model |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Known for | Kasautii Zindagii Kay, Bigg Boss 4, Begusarai |
| Notable awards | Indian Telly Award for Best Actress (2002); winner, Bigg Boss 4 (2011) |
Shweta Tiwari was born on 4 October 1980 in Mumbai. She began her professional career in the late 1990s with modelling assignments and small television roles before transitioning to lead parts in daily soaps produced for Indian general entertainment channels.
Tiwari attained widespread recognition with her portrayal of Prerna Sharma in Kasautii Zindagii Kay, the Balaji Telefilms production that aired on STAR Plus from 2001 to 2008. The role made her one of the most prominent faces of Indian television during the 2000s and earned her the Indian Telly Award for Best Actress in a Lead Role in 2002.
Following the conclusion of Kasautii Zindagii Kay, she appeared in serials such as Parvarrish – Kuchh Khattee Kuchh Meethi on Sony Entertainment Television (2011–2013) and played Lakshmi Thakur in Begusarai on &TV (2015–2016). She has also taken part in non-fiction shows including dance and reality formats.
In 2010–2011, Tiwari participated in the fourth season of Bigg Boss, the Hindi adaptation of the international Big Brother franchise, hosted by Salman Khan and broadcast on Colors. She emerged as the winner of the season in January 2011, a victory that revived her public profile and led to renewed television offers.
Apart from television, Tiwari has appeared in a handful of Hindi and Bhojpuri films and in stage productions. Her film appearances include the Hindi feature Bin Bulaye Baraati (2011).
Tiwari married actor Raja Chaudhary, with whom she has a daughter, Palak Tiwari, who has subsequently entered the entertainment industry. The marriage ended in divorce. She later married actor Abhinav Kohli, with whom she has a son; this marriage too was followed by a separation.
Shweta Tiwari is regarded as one of the early breakout stars of the Indian daily-soap era of the 2000s. Her portrayal of Prerna in Kasautii Zindagii Kay is frequently cited as a benchmark performance in Hindi television, and her win on Bigg Boss 4 demonstrated the cross-over potential between scripted and reality formats in Indian broadcasting.