Actor and model Sonu Sood was born on 30 July 1973 in Moga, Punjab. Sood completed his schooling from Punjab and later shifted to Nagpur to finish his degree in Electronic Engineering from from the Yeshwantrao Chavan College of Engineering. Ever since he was a child, he wanted to pursue a career in acting and started by modelling for fashion shows while in college. Obsessed with fitness and training, Sood entered the Mr India pageant. He did not win the competition but he landed several modelling assignments for big brands.

He finally made his acting debut with the Tamil film Kallazhagar (1999) and later acted in the Telugu film Hands Up! (2000). He slowly gained popularity in southern films.

He made his debut in a Hindi film with Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh (2002). His performance was appreciated and while continuing his career in the South, he started getting several offers from the Hindi film industry as well.

With the release of Super (2005), he received recognition for his outstanding work in the Telugu film industry. In 2008, he was nominated for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for playing the role of Prince Sujamal in Ashutosh Gowarikar’s epic film Jodhaa Akbar (2008). In 2010 however, Sood established himself with his performance as the villain in Dabangg (2010). Cast opposite superstar Salman Khan, his performance was much appreciated and the film was a super-hit. He even won the IIFA Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role for his work in the film.

In the following year, he made his debut in Kannada cinema with Vishnuvardhana (2011). He was nominated for several awards as South Indian Film Festivals for his performance.

Recently, he has been seen in some major films like Shootout at Wadala (2013), R... Rajkumar (2013), Happy New Year (2014), and Gabbar is Back (2015) amongst others.