Kaif was born in Hong Kong on July 16, 1984 to an Indian Kashmiri father and a white British mother. One of eight children, all daughters, she was raised in Hawaii. At age fourteen she was approached by an agent and began modeling; her first job was a jewelry campaign. She continued modeling in London.

At the age of fourteen, Kaif started modeling for a jewelery campaign in London, and was subsequently discovered by filmmaker Kaizad Gustad, who gave her a part in his film Boom(2003).
She moved to Mumbai and was offered a number of modeling assignments. However, filmmakers were at first hesitant to sign her because of her linguistic shortcomings.

Katrina Kaif