Sanam Saeed (born 2 February 1985) is a Pakistani actress, singer and former model who predominantly works in Urdu cinema and television. She is best known for portraying the role of Kashaf Murtaza in Momina Duraid's Zindagi Gulzar Hai, for which she received numerous accolades, including Lux Style Awards for Best Television Actress.
A graduate of film and theatre studies at Lahore, Saeed made her television debut in the 2010 romance Daam. Saeed had her first commercial success with the 2013 romantic series Zindagi Gulzar Hai. She rose to prominence by featuring as the female lead in several top-grossing television series, including Mata-e-Jaan Hai Tu (2013), Talkhiyaan (2013), Zindagi Gulzar Hai (2013) and Kadoorat (2013), Kahin Chand Na Sharma Jaye (2013), Ek Kasak Reh Gayi (2015), Firaaq (2014)—and received critical recognition for playing antagonist type in the 2015 family drama Diyar-e-Dil, that earned her a nomination for Best Villain at Hum Awards. Saeed was last seen playing the main protagonist in Deedan opposite Mohib Mirza.
After establishing herself as a leading actress in television, Saeed made her film debut with the 2016 romantic comedy Bachaana and later appeared in a supporting role in Dobara Phir Se in the same year. Both of which earned her nomination for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress respectively at Lux Style Awards. Her other film appearances include the biographical drama Mah-e-Mir, the period drama film Rahm (both 2016), the melodrama Azaad (2017) and the family drama Cake (2018), for which she received nominations for Best Actress at Lux Style Awards and Pakistan Achievement Awards. In 2019, Saeed was named "Pride of Pakistan" by Daily Times.
Early life
Born in England, her father is a retired interior designer, while her mother was an art teacher. She has one brother, Adnan Saeed, and one sister, Amira Saeed.[3] The multi-ethnic family (her father is a Punjabi while her mother is a Memon) moved back to Karachi in 1990.[4] She did her O-levels at Bay View High School Karachi and her A-levels at L'Ecole College. Saeed started modelling at the age of 16.[5] In Paper Magazine, she confessed that she quit modelling as she was becoming increasingly conscious about her looks for the first time in her life.
