Zeenat Aman was born to a Muslim father, Amanullah Khan and a Hindu mother, Scinda. Her father , was one of the writers for the blockbuster movies of Mughal-e-Azam and Pakeezah. He died when Zeenat was just 13. Zeenat's mother was a German citizen, and took her to Germany - where Zeenat was very unhappy, returning to India as soon as she turned 18. Zeenat received a Lifetime Achievement Award during the Zee Cine Awards function in 2008, as a recognition of her talent & contribution to Hindi Cinema.
Zeenat married Sanjay Khan (Abbas) during the making of the film Abdullah. in 1980's she got married to Mazhar Khan and had two sons Azaan and Zahaan.
Aman studied in Mumbai and abroad. Upon returning to India, she first took a job as a journalist for Femina and then later on moved on to modeling. One of the first few brands that she modeled for was Taj Mahal Tea and Television X Debut in 1966 exclusively.
Zeenat Aman was drawn to more unconventional roles. She was cast in Roti Kapda Aur Makaan, as the ambitious girl who considers aborting her baby to pursue a career (Ajnabee), the happy hooker (Manoranjan), the disenchanted hippie (Hare Rama Hare Krishna), the girl who falls in love with her mother's one-time lover (Prem Shastra), and a woman married to a caustic cripple but involved in an extramarital relationship (Dhund). She managed to balance these roles with acting in more conventional films such as Chori Mera Kaam, Chhaila Babu, Dostana and Lawaaris, which is considered by many to be a landmark in Indian Cinema.
Aman's film career began with a small role in O. P. Ralhan's Hulchul in 1971.
In Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Aman, aided by R. D. Burman's song "Dum Maro Dum" (Take Another Toke), won over the heart's of audience as Janice. She earned a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award and BFJA Award for Best Actress.
Throughout the 1970s, the Dev-Zeenat pairing was seen in half a dozen films: Heera Panna (1973), Ishq Ishq Ishq (1974), Prem Shastra (1974), Warrant (1975), Darling Darling (1977) and Kalabaaz (1977). Of these, Warrant, was the biggest box-office success.
Her hip looks in "Yaadon Ki Baaraat' (1973) as the girl carrying a guitar, singing 'churaliya hai tumne jo dil ko' (in Asha Bhonsle's voice) has won her more popularity and the hearts of millions of fans.
She became the favourite cover girl of the popular magazine 'Stardust'.Zeenat Aman, in her later career, found success with other banners such as B. R. Chopra, Nasir Hussain, Shakti Samanta, Manoj Kumar and Manmohan Desai.
In 1978, she starred in Raj Kapoor's massively publicised Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978), however, the film was heavely criticized. The subject ironically dealt with the notion of the soul being more attractive than the body, but Kapoor chose to showcase Aman's sex-appeal. The actress was highly criticized for her exposure but somehow, later on the film had a great deal to do with Zeenat's fame and the movie itself was distinguished as a work of art. She also earned a Filmfare nomination as Best Actress for this film.
Aman continued to act in hits like Dharam Veer, Chhaila Babu and The Great Gambler.As a rape victim seeking justice in B. R. Chopra's Insaaf Ka Tarazu (1980) for which she received a Filmfare Best Actress nomination also came. This film was followed by success in the love triangle Qurbani, Ali Baba aur 40 Chor, Dostana (1980) and Lawaaris (1981).
The critics appreciated her performance in some movies with female-oriented themes like "Bandhan Kuchchey Dhaagon Ka", "Yaadon Ki Barat", "Baat Ban Jaye" & "Namumkin".Her last role as the female lead was in the movie "Gawahi" a court room drama in 1989. Zeenat made a come back for doing cameo roles in the film Bhopal Express, Boom (2003), Jaana... Let's Fall in Love (2006), Chaurahen (2007) & Ugly Aur Pagli (2008).
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