Tabu was born as Tabassum Hashmi on November 4, 1970 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. She is an award-winning Indian actress who has acted in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and English films.

She is the niece of Shabana Azmi, Kaifi Azmi's grand-daughter and the younger sister of actress Farha Naaz.

She is the life member of International Film And Television Club of Asian Academy Of Film and Television, Noida.

She has won the coveted National Film Award for Best Actress twice. She is best known for her critically acclaimed acting in many films rather than achieving box office success. She is considered one of the finest and most versatile actresses in the country.

Tabu is known best for her willingness to play characters in artistic, low-budget films that go on to garner more critical appreciation than they do substantial box office figures such as in Maqbool (2003) or Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities (2004).

She has acted in a number of Telugu movies, many of them very successful, such as Coolie No. 1 and Ninne Pelladatha.

She had a supporting role in Fanaa (2006), with Aamir Khan and Kajol, and was a big hit commercially and critically. Her biggest hit in the West has been the film The Namesake (2007). Her recent release Cheeni Kum has done quite well in overseas as well as India.