Ushna Shah

Shah was born on 12 February 1990, in Karachi, Sindh, to Muhammad Shah, a businessman, and Ismat Tahira, a veteran actress and a radio artist. She has one elder brother, Shah Sharabeel, a theater director, and an elder half-sister from her mother's first marriage, Irsa Ghazal, another television actress. The family relocated to Toronto, when Shah was a child, where she was raised. Shah moved back to Pakistan in 2012, to pursue a career in acting. Shah graduated with a major in English Literature and Professional Writing from the York University. Shah began her career with character roles, including the serial Bashar Momin in 2014, the drama serial Duaa (2015) in which she played the title character, and Alif Allah Aur Insaan (2017) in the role of a beggar turned courtesan. She was cast in Jawad Bashir's Teri Meri Love Story in which she played the leading character Eesha, but the film was halted post-production and the official release never happened. She also starred in the first online Pakistani comedy film Oye Kuch Kar Guzar by D-juice Pakistan. She then appeared as a guest in the film Punjab Nahi Jaungi in 2017. She has been the brand ambassador for the fashion label Nickie Nina, and has done campaigns for various lawn brands such as Jahanara. In June 2017 she wrote on Facebook criticizing what she said was the trend of various talk shows using Ramadan to cash in on television rating points.