Mandeep Kaur Takhar, better known by her professional name, Mandy Takhar, is a British-Indian model and actress who stars in predominantly Punjabi films. She rose to fame after portraying the role of Sahiba in the Punjabi film Mirza- The Untold Story.

In 2010, she made her debut in the film Ekam – Son of Soil, earning a resounding appreciation for her portrayal of the female lead Navneet opposite famous Punjabi singer Babbu Mann. This was followed by another leading role in a big-budget romance-action Punjabi film, Mirza – The Untold Story where she played the role of Sahiba opposite the superstar Gippy Grewal. Her remarkable performance won yet another round of appreciation, and subsequently, a PTC Punjabi nomination for Best Actress. Her back-to-back success with both films established her as one of the most loved leading actresses in Punjabi cinema. She made her debut in Bollywood also in 2012 as Pinky in the dark comedy film Bumboo, which translates to “extreme pain”. She also starred in another Punjabi film Saadi Wakhri Hai Shaan as Jot in the same year.

In 2013, she featured in comedy film Tu Merra 22 Main Terra 22 alongside Amrinder Gill and Honey Singh. The film garnered appreciation from the audience and critics alike and won her a Punjabi Film and Music Festival award as the Most Prominent and Popular Face and Youth Icon. She made her debut in Tamil cinema the same year as Maya in the action-thriller film Biriyani. She continues to star in several Punjabi films with the most notable ones being: Sardaaji in 2015—winning her second PTC Punjabi Film Awards as Best Actress, Ardaas in 2016, Sardar Mohammad, a drama directed by Harry Bhatti in 2017, and Khido Khundi a sports film in which she played the role of an independent breadwinner.

In addition to acting, she dabbled in singing with the song Laddo Rani in collaboration with Dr. Zeus. Mandy also did international relief work with Khalsa Aid. In 2016, she visited the Northern Iraq-Syria border to aid Kurdish Yazidi refugees.

Mandy comes from a traditional Sikh family with roots in Maliana, a tiny village near Phagwara in Punjab. Her family moved to Wolverhampton, UK, where she was eventually born and raised in. Although she was inclined towards acting in as early as 8 years old, Mandy was a tomboy, taking up horseback riding as a hobby and being the sole female in her high school’s rugby and football teams. She also extensively trained in martial arts. Her parents sent her and her sisters Kammy Takhar and Jessi Boughan to weekend school to learn Punjabi so they wouldn’t forget their roots. Her family disapproved of her dreams of wanting to be an actress but they eventually relented, with all of them moving to London with Mandy so she can pursue a theater degree at Kingston University when she was 17. She eventually moved to Mumbai, India in 2009 to chase her dreams of an acting career in the Indian film industry.