Mehwish Hayat

Mehwish Hayat (born 6 January 1988) is a Pakistani actress who primarily works in Urdu films, and formerly, in television. She made her debut in the film with the comedy Jawani Phir Nahi Ani (2015) and later went on to become an Actor in Law (2016). Hayat had since starred in the comedies Punjab Nahi Jaungi (2017), Load Wedding (2018), and London Nahi Jaunga (2022), all of which rank among one of highest-grossing Pakistani films.^[3][4][5]

Mehwish Hayat TI
Hayat at a talk show in 2019
Born	(1988-01-06) 6 January 1988 (age 37)[1][2] Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Alma mater	University of Karachi
Occupations	Actress singer
Years active	2009–present
Honours	Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (2019)
Musical career
Genres	Pop music
Instrument	Vocals
Labels	Coke Studio

Career

The 2012 romantic drama series Meray Qatil Meray Dildar marked a significant turning point in Hayat's career, earning her praise and nomination for Best Actress at the Lux Style Awards. She later portraying of a strong headed in Kashif Nisar's acclaim series Kami Reh Gayi (2013).^[6] She achieved further success by featuring in four of Momina Duraid's romantic dramas—Phir Chand Pe Dastak (2011), Mirat-ul-Uroos (2012), Ishq Mein Teray (2013), Ru Baru (2014) and Anjum Shahzad's highly successful family drama Kabhi Kabhi (2013). Her last Pakistani television appearance was Nadeem Baig's tragic romance Dil Lagi (2016).^{[7][8][9][10]} In 2022 she had a supporting role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe TV series Ms. Marvel, as the character Aisha, who has to flee India to Pakistan during the 1940s.

Hayat is the recipient of Lux Style Award and was honoured by the Government of Pakistan with the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz in 2019.^[11][12]

In 2024, Hayat made her television comeback with ARY Digital's television film Ijazat, along with Hassan Sheheryar Yasin.^[13] In 2025, she made her small screen appearance after 7 years in Geo Entertainment's television series Dayan, along with Ahsan Khan and Hira Mani.^[14]

Personal life

Hayat was born on 6 January 1988 in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.^[1][2][15] Her mother, Rukhsar Hayat, was a popular television actress during the 1980s,^[16] her eldest brother Zeeshan is a singer-composer while her older sister, Afsheen, is a singer as well.^{[17][18][19][20]} Another older brother, Danish Hayat, is an actor and, through him, she's the sister-in-law of Faiza Ashfaq, a model.^[21][22][23] In 2020 there were reports in the Indian media that Hayat was in a relationship with Dawood Ibrahim, a crime lord on India's most-wanted list. The rumors about the relationship have never been substantiated and were likely slander resulting from Hayat's outspoken opinions.^[24]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes	Ref(s)
2014	Na Maloom Afraad	Dancer	Nabeel Qureshi	Special appearance in song "Billi"	[18]
2015	Jawani Phir Nahi Ani	Marina	Nadeem Baig		[19]
2016	Actor in Law	Meenu Screwala	Nabeel Qureshi		[8]
2017	Punjab Nahi Jaungi	Amal Dastoor	Nadeem Baig		[7]
2018	Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2	Marina	Nadeem Baig	Voice cameo	[9]
	Load Wedding	Meerab	Nabeel Qureshi		[22]
	3 Bahadur: Rise of the Warriors	Erma (voice)	Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy	Animated film	[23]
2019	Chhalawa	Zoya Rafaqat Chaudhary	Wajahat Rauf		[25]
	Baaji	Gangster Guriya	Saqib Malik	Special appearance in song "Gangster Guriya"	[26]
2022	London Nahi Jaunga	Sara Tiwana	Nadeem Baig		[27]
2023	Teri Meri Kahaniyaan	Sadaf	Nadeem Baig	Anthology film	[28]
2024	Daghabaaz Dil	Zoya	Wajahat Rauf

Short films

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes	Ref(s)
2009	Insha'Allah	Sahar	Khurram Mahmood	Short film	[29]
2015	Dho Dala: The Sin Washer	Pari	Iram Parveen Bilal		[17]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes	Ref(s)
2009	Massi Aur Malika	Hina	Abid Ali	Acting debut	[10]
2010	Shehr-e-dil Ke Darwazay	Maria	Nadeem Siddiqui		[30]
	Thori Si Wafa Chahiye	Mehreen “Mehru”	Yasir Nawaz		[30]
2011	Meray Qatil Meray Dildar	Maham	Asim Ali		[10]
	Phir Chand Pe Dastak	Mariam	Saife Hassan		[10]
2012	Dil Tou Bhatkay Ga		Haseeb Hassan
	Man Jali	Tooba Wahab	Nadeem Baig		[10]
	Mirat-ul-Uroos	Aima	Anjum Shahzad		[10]
	Bin Tere	Saman	Angeline Malik		[10]
	Main				[10]
2013	Kabhi Kabhi	Ishaal	Anjum Shahzad		[10]
	Ishq Mein Teray	Aiza	Faheem Burney		[31]
	Kami Reh Gaee	Laila	Kashif Nisar		[10]
2014	Ru Baru	Seema (Sarmad's mother)	Saife Hassan		[10]
2016	Unsuni	Farah	Ehraz Ali Mirza		[10]
	Dil Lagi	Anmol	Nadeem Beyg		[32]
2022	Ms. Marvel	Aisha	Various	American debut	[33]
2024	Ijaazat	Leena	Ahmed Bhatti	Telefilm	[13]
2025	Dayan	Nihaal/Misha	Siraj-ul-Haque	Drama comeback	[14]

Web series

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Director	Ref(s)
2019	Enaaya	Enaaya		Wajahat Rauf	[34]

Other appearance

Year	Title	Role	Director	Ref(s)
2013	Kitni Girhain Baaki Hain	Zareena	Angeline Malik	[35]
2013	Hum Sab Umeed Se Hain	Host	Anjum Shahzad	[10]

Discography

• "Pani Barsa"‍—‌Man Jali (2010)^[36]
• "Tell Me Why"‍—‌Meri Behan Maya (2011)^[36]
• "Har Saans Gawahi Deta Hai"‍—‌Mirat-ul-Uroos (2012)^[36]
• "Mujhse Ab Meri Mohabbat Ke Fasanena Kaho"‍—‌Talkhiyaan (2013)^[37]
• "Tu Hi Tu" with Shiraz Uppal in 3rd episode of Coke Studio 9 as featured artist (2016)^[38]
• "Dil Saab Dil Babu"‍—‌Sitaron Bhari Raat (2019)^[39]
• "Chamkeeli" with Abrar-ul-Haq (2019)^[40]

Awards and nominations

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref
Lux Style Awards
2013	Mere Qatil Mere Dildar	Best TV Actress – Satellite	Nominated	[41]
	Mein	Best TV Actress – Terrestrial	Nominated	[41]
2014	Kami Reh Gaee	Best Television Actress – Terrestrial	Won	[41]
2016	Jawani Phir Nahi Ani	Best Actress (Film)	Nominated	[42]
2017	Dil Lagi	Best TV Actress	Nominated	[43]
	Actor in Law	Best Actress (Film)	Nominated
2018	Punjab Nahi Jaungi		Nominated	[44]
2019	Load Wedding		Won	[45]
Hum Awards
2013	Mere Qatil Mere Dildar	Best Actress (Drama)	Nominated	[46]
		Best Onscreen Couple (Drama)	Nominated
Hum Style Awards
2016		Most Stylish Actress (Film)	Nominated	[47]
Nigar Awards
2017	Actor in Law	Best Actress (Film)	Nominated	[48]
International Pakistan Prestige Awards
2017	Actor in Law	Best Actress (Film)	Won	[49]
2018	Punjab Nahi Jaungi		Won	[50]

See also

• List of Pakistani models
• List of Pakistani actresses