Kabir Bedi Age, Girlfriend, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More
Bio/Wiki | |
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Profession | Actor |
Physical Stats & More | |
Height (approx.) | in centimeters- 188 cm in meters- 1.88 m in feet & inches- 6’ 2” |
Eye Colour | Hazel Brown |
Hair Colour | Salt & Pepper |
Career | |
Debut | Film (Hindi): Hulchul (1971) as Mahesh Jetley Film (Italian): The Black Corsair (1976) as Black Corsair Film (English): The Thief of Baghdad (1978) as Prince Taj Film (Telugu): Gautamiputra Satakarni (2017) as Nahapana TV (Italian): Sandokan (1976) as Sandokan TV (English): Dynasty (1982) as Farouk Ahmed TV (Hindi): Ganga Kii Dheej (2010) as Dada Bhai; aired on Sahara One Web Series (Hindi): Thinkistan (2019) as Danish Azeem; streamed on MX Player |
Awards, Honours, Achievements | • 1979: Best Male TV Star by Bravo Otto Germany • 2002: Capri Fest Lifetime Achievement Award • 2007: Flaiano International Prize • 2007: Pegaso D’oro Lifetime Achievement Award by Premi Internazionali Flaiano, Italy • 2010: “Cavaliere” (Knight) of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by the Italian Government for his outstanding contribution to Italian cinema • 2018: Honorary Degree from Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India • 2018: Lifetime Achievement Icon Award from the Punjabi Cultural Heritage Board • 2018: Guirlande D’honneur (Garland of Honour) by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), by President Ascani in Milan, Italy • 2019: Premio Internazionale Basilicata at the Maratea Film Festival • 2019: Lifetime Achievement Award at Wolfsburg Cineways International Film Festival in Germany • 2022: Lifetime Achievement Award by Venice Film Festival • 2022: Diva & Donna Book of the Year Award for his autobiography Stories I Must Tell: The Emotional Life of an Actor |
Personal Life | |
Date of Birth | 16 January 1946 (Wednesday) |
Age (as of 2024) | 78 Years |
Birthplace | Lahore, Punjab Province of British India (now Punjab, Pakistan) |
Zodiac sign | Capricorn |
Signature | |
Nationality | Indian |
Hometown | New Delhi |
School(s) | • The Elisabeth Gauba School, New Delhi • Delhi Public School, New Delhi • Shantiniketan School in West Bengal • Sherwood College in Uttarakhand |
College/University | St. Stephen’s College, Delhi |
Educational Qualification | BA in History Hons. (1963-1967) [1]LinkedIn – Kabir Bedi |
Religion | Sikhism [2]YouTube – Jashn-e-Rekhta |
Caste | Khatri [3]YouTube – Jashn-e-Rekhta |
Food Habit | Non-vegetarian [4]Instagram – Kabir Bedi |
Address | A5, Beach House Park, Gandhigram Road, Juhu, Mumbai, Maharashtra |
Relationships & More | |
Marital Status | Married |
Affairs/Girlfriends | • Protima Bedi • Parveen Babi (actor) • Susan Anne Humphreys • Nikki Bedi • Parveen Dusanj |
Marriage Date | • First Marriage- Year, 1969 • Second Marriage- Year, 1980 • Third Marriage- Year, 1992 • Fourth Marriage- 12 December 2015 |
Family | |
Wife/Spouse | • First Wife- Protima Bedi (model, Odissi dancer; divorced in 1977) • Second Wife- Susan Humphreys (fashion designer; divorced in 1990) • Third Wife- Nikki Bedi (BBC radio presenter; divorced in 2005) • Fourth Wife- Parveen Dusanj (social researcher) |
Children | Son(s)- 2 Siddharth Bedi (from Protima Bedi; committed suicide in 1997) Adam Bedi (from Susan Anne Humphreys; actor & model) Daughter- Pooja Bedi (from Protima Bedi; actor & model) |
Parents | Father- Baba Pyare Lal Singh Bedi (author, philosopher) Mother- Freda Bedi (author, Buddhist nun) |
Siblings | Brother- Ranga Bedi (elder; tea planter) Sister- Guli Bedi aka Gulhima Bedi (younger; professor) |
Other Relative | Granddaughter- Aalia Furniturewalla (Pooja Bedi's daughter) |
Favourites | |
Actor | Bud Spencer |
Film(s) | Dr Zhivago (1965), Gandhi (1982), Octopussy (1983) |
TV Show | Homeland (2011) |
Comic Character(s) | The Phantom, Batman |
Cartoon | The Chipmunks |
Music Band | The Beatles |
Food | Fried Eggs, Marmalade on Buttered Toast, Pizza |
Beverage(s) | Scotch Whiskey, Brunello Di Montalcino Wine, Dom Pérignon |
Travelling Destination(s) | London, Rome, Delhi |
Some Lesser Known Facts About Kabir Bedi
- Kabir Bedi is an Indian actor, who has acted in various Hindi, English, and European films and TV series. He has worked with various radio channels as an RJ.
- When he was 7 years old, he did his first theatre play ‘Bandar Da Vyaah.’
- In an interview, Kabir shared that he was the descendant of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. His mother had adopted Buddhism and became a Buddhist nun. She was also considered the first western woman to take ordination in Tibetan Buddhism. He further shared that at the age of 10, he became a monk for a few days, and he also learnt meditation and Vipassana. [5]The New Indian Express He said,
My mother was a Buddhist nun in Tibet for the last 15 years of her life. I was also ordained a monk in Burma when I was 10. I spent a few months in a monastery as well. My head was shaved, and I was put in a room, had to wear a robe, roam the streets with a bowl to get donations of food from people and meditate for certain hours in the day. I spent the summer that year as a Buddhist monk.”
- His father was a communist, and his mother was a follower of Mahatma Gandhi, and they both were Indian freedom fighters.
- While studying at The Elisabeth Gauba School, New Delhi, he was good friends with the Indian politicians Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi.
- While studying in school and college, he participated in various English and Hindi theatre plays. Meanwhile, he also did a part-time job as an English newsreader at All India Radio, Delhi, to pay his college fees. While he was working at AIR, he interviewed the famous English rock band The Beatles. After broadcasting the interview, someone at AIR mistakenly erased the interview by reusing the tape. Kabir had made a great effort to get the interview of The Beatles. He was so upset with the team of AIR for erasing the interview that he decided to leave the job. Later, he shifted to Mumbai to make his career as a film director. With only Rs 700, he shifted from Delhi to Mumbai. [6]YouTube – Jashn-e-Rekhta
- Kabir Bedi started his career as a model in Mumbai. Initially, he did a few print advertisements and photoshoots. He was then featured in various TV commercials. He has also walked the ramp in various fashion shows.
- Gradually, he started getting offers to perform in theatre plays in various languages like Hindi, English, and European. He has performed in many popular theatre plays such as Shakespeare’s Othello, The Vultures, The Far Pavilions, and Taj.
- In the 1960s, Kabir met the Indian model and Odissi dancer Protima Gauri during a modelling assignment. After dating for a few years, the couple tied the knot in 1969. In an interview, Kabir shared that Protima and Kabir had an open marriage. In the late 1970s, Kabir had an extramarital affair with the Indian actress Parveen Babi which became one of the reasons for Kabir and Protima’s divorce. In an interview, while talking about his failed marriage, Kabir said,
Our open marriage may have seemed like a good idea at first. In the end, it only caused me greater anxiety. It had led to a lack of intimacy between us. I didn’t feel the love that I wanted, the caring and sharing I needed. Nor was I able to give it. The old magic had gone. I was feeling alone, empty and dejected.”
Protima once shared in an interview that she was the one who encouraged Kabir to have an affair with Parveen. Protima said,
I wanted them to have fun, a great time but on the same time I’d told Parveen not to get too serious about Kabir. And I was unfaithful to Kabir. When he finally left home to shack with Parveen I was relieved! When Parveen came into his life Kabir was trying to escape from me.”
- In 1968, Kabir got a job as a film and radio chief at Lintas, Mumbai, where he worked as a writer and director for various advertisements for films and radio channels. He worked there for around two years, and then he started working at Ogilvy & Mather Private Limited, Mumbai as a film and radio chief.
- Kabir has acted in many popular Hindi films like ‘Kuchhe Dhaage’ (1973), ‘Nagin’ (1976), ‘Khoon Bhari Maang’ (1988), ‘Main Hoon Na’ (2004), and ‘Mohenjo Daro’ (2016).
- He has also acted in various English TV series like ‘General Hospital’ (1983), ‘Knight Rider’ (1985), ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ (1994), ‘Murder, She Wrote’ (1988), and ‘Magnum, P.I.’ (1988).
- In 2005, he started dating the Indian social researcher Parveen Dusanj, who hails from London, UK. The couple has around 26 years of age gap. After being in a live-in relationship for a few years, the couple tied the knot on the 70th birthday of Kabir Bedi. Kabir Bedi’s daughter Pooja Bedi (who is a few years older than Parveen) was not happy with their marriage and called Parveen a witch in her life through one of her tweets.
- In 2007, he did the Italian radio show ‘Ch@t’ in which he played the role of Sandokan. The show was broadcasted on the radio channel RAI Radio2.
- Kabir has also hosted a few radio shows like ‘Women of Gold’ (2012), ‘Men of Steel’ (2012), ‘Ten on Ten’ – ‘Ten Biggest Impacts This Last Decade’ (2017), and ‘Best of 2017’ (2017), which aired on RadioOne.
- Apart from acting and hosting, he has worked as a voice-over artist and dubbing artist in various TV commercials, corporate films, sound & light shows, documentaries, and audiobooks. Some of the events where he worked as a voice-over artist are Aircel Save the Tiger Campaign (2009; Public awareness campaign), Virasat-e-Khalsa – Khalsa Heritage Memorial Complex, Punjab (2011; narrator), Jindal Panther (2014; advertisement), Mount of Excellence (2015; documentary narrator), and Konark Sun Temple, Odisha (2017; sound & light show).
- He has dubbed the Hindi version of various English films. In 2010, he dubbed in the English film ‘Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time’ for the character of Nizam (which is originally played by Ben Kingsley). In 2015, he dubbed in the English film ‘Fantastic Four’ for the character of Dr Franklin Storm (which is originally played by Reg E. Cathey).
- Kabir Bedi started a YouTube channel in 2011 with his name on which he uploads his acting videos. His channel has around 5.23k subscribers.
- He acted in the 2013 Hindi TV series ‘Buddha.’ The serial was aired on DD National.
- To maintain his fitness, he regularly practices yoga since his younger days.
- Kabir Bedi has appeared on the cover of magazines like iHola!, Teletutto Bolero, and Bravo.
- He can speak various languages such as Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, English, and Italian.
- Kabir often smokes cigarettes and consumes alcohol. [7]Instagram – Kabir Bedi
- He enjoys travelling and cooking food in his leisure time.
- He has hosted a few Hindi news special series like ‘Vande Mataram’ (2013; Aaj Tak), ‘Guns & Glory: The Indian Soldier’ (2013; Headlines Today), and ‘Jai Ho’ (2014; India TV).
- He has hosted many events such as Frank Knight Wealth Report Launch (2016), Bennet Coleman’s, NRI of the Year Awards – Mumbai (2016), Mauritius Film Festival – Mauritius (2017), Walk Down Memory Lane, ‘Rendez-Vous’ – Bangalore (2017), and 100 Years Yoga Institute celebrations – Mumbai (2018).
- Various national and international events where he has worked as a speaker are Budweiser Youth event, motivational talk (2016), Insight Storm – Mumbai (2016), FICCI FLO – Insights To Success – Jaipur (2017), NASSCOM Design Summit – Bangalore (2018), and FICCI FLO ‘Life Lessons’ Q&A – Ludhiana (2018).
- Kabir Bedi has been appointed as the brand ambassador of various NGOs including Sightsavers India and Care&Share Italia. NGO Sightsavers India is working for the welfare of visually impaired children and Care&Share Italia which works for providing education to slum children in Hyderabad and Vijayawada. He has supported the anti-government struggle in Myanmar. Some other organisations where he has been appointed as a brand ambassador are Burma Campaign UK, Rotary International South Asia for its Teach Programme, and the Total Literacy Mission in India and South Asia.
- He started the film production company ‘Bedination’ in 2018 and has produced various Hindi films and web series under his banner.
- Kabir participated in ‘Grande Fratello VIP,’ the Italian version of the reality TV game show Bigg Brother in 2021. The show was aired on Canale 5.
- He has worked as a columnist for media houses like The Times of India and Tehelka.
- In 2021, his autobiography ‘Stories I Must Tell- The Emotional Life of An Actor Kabir Bedi’ was released. In his book, he shared that his son’s suicide was the lowest phase in his life. He also talked about getting bankrupt due to a lack of good acting projects. [8]Hindustan Times
- Kabir Bedi holds a voting membership in a few organisations such as “Oscars Academy” (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), The Screen Actors Guild, The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and The British Actors’ Equity Association.
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