Sara Ali Khan

Sara Ali Khan was born on 12 August 1995 in Bombay, Maharashtra, to father, Saif Ali Khan, son of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and Sharmila Tagore, and mother, Amrita Singh, daughter of Sardar Shivinder Singh Virk and socialite Rukhsana Sultana. Both her parents are actors of the Hindi film industry. Khan is of Pashtun, Assamese, and Bengali descent on her father's side, and of Punjabi descent on her mother's side.

Khan is also the great-granddaughter of Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi and Sajida Sultan, the great-great-granddaughter of Jnanadabhiram Barua, Hamidullah Khan, and Sobha Singh, the great-great-great-granddaughter of Sultan Jahan Begum, Gaganendranath Tagore, Gunabhiram Barua, and Sujan Singh, and the niece of Soha Ali Khan and Saba Ali Khan. She has a younger brother, Ibrahim Ali Khan, who is also an actor, and two half-brothers from her father's second marriage to Kareena Kapoor.

When Khan was a four-year-old, she acted in an advertisement. According to Saif, actress Aishwarya Rai proved to be her inspiration for pursuing a career in film after she saw her perform on stage in Chicago. In 2004, when Khan was nine, her parents divorced, and Singh was granted legal guardianship of her children. Saif was initially not allowed to see her or her brother; they have since reconciled, and, according to Saif, "are more like friends [than father and daughter]". Khan also shares a healthy relationship with Kapoor, her step-mother; she stated in 2018, "I would like to imbibe her professionalism in me".

As a teenager, Khan struggled with her weight, and had to undergo daily workouts under a strict schedule to get fit. She was also diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, which she ascribes as a cause for her weight gain. Khan studied history and political science at Columbia University in New York. In 2016, she completed her graduation early, within three years, and took off the remaining 1+1⁄2 years for weight training, following which she returned to India.