Happy Birthday, Sonakshi Sinha. Bollywood's Boss Lady @31

It's a great day for Sonakshi Sinha, who will blow out 31 candles on her birthday today. Sonakshi is the star of movies like Lootera and the blockbusters Dabangg films. She is also the new action kid on the block with movies like Akira and Force 2 on her resume. From playing Salman Khan's heroine to fighting off goons, Sonakshi has come a long way in her eight-year-long-career. Here's a pictorial look at her life and journey in Bollywood so far.

This image was posted on Instagram by Sonakshi Sinha

Sonakshi was born on June 2, 1987 to actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha and former beauty queen Poonam.

Sonakshi Sinha has two brothers - Luv and Kush Sinha.

Sonakshi kick-started her career as a model, walking the ramp at Lakme Fashion week in 2008, and then again in 2009.

Sonakshi famously lost 30 kgs to play svelte village belle Rajjo, in her debut film, 2010's Dabangg.

Sonakshi's debut film Dabangg, co-starring Salman Khan, became a blockbuster hit and broke box office records.

She won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut for her performance in the film.

We saw a lot of Sonakshi in 2012. Her Rowdy Rathore, opposite Akshay Kumar, and Son Of Sardaar, opposite Ajay Devgn, were hits, but Joker, again with Akshay, was a flop.

Sonakshi's last film of 2012, Dabangg 2, opposite Salman Khan, was also a box office hit though it received mixed reviews from the audience and critics alike.

We also saw her in a retro look in the item number Thank God It's Friday from the movie Himmatwala (2013).

Four of Sonakshi's films released in 2013. Vikramaditya Motwane's Lootera, a period romance in which she featured with Ranveer Singh, did average business at the box office but earned her rave reviews from the audience and critics alike. Milan Luthria's Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Dobaara!, the sequel to the 2010 hit film Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, which also featured Akshay Kumar and Imran Khan turned out to be a damp squib at the box office.

2014 saw Sonakshi act opposite Akshay Kumar in the AR Murugadoss-directed Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty. The film did brisk business at the box office and was among the Rs 100-crore films of the year. Action Jackson opposite Ajay Devgn, which released the same year, did not do as well. Lingaa, opposite Rajinikanth, which released at the end of the year, met with an even worse fate and ran into losses.

2015 began on a lacklustre note with Tevar, a remake of Okkadu, opposite Arjun Kapoor which was declared a flop at the box office.

In 2016, Sonakshi starred in AR Murugadoss' Akira, the Hindi remake of the Tamil hit Mounaguru. She was also seen in Force 2 with John Abraham and Tahir Raj Bhasin.

2017 saw her play the role of a journalist in Noor, which is based on Saba Imtiaz's 2014 crime novel Karachi, You're Killing Me! and was directed by Sunhil Sippy.

Later, she was seen in Ittefaq.

This image was posted on Instagram by Sonakshi Sinha

Welcome To New York was her last-released film.

This year, she will be seen in Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi and Karan Johar's multi-starrer Kalank, featuring Sonakshi with stars like Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Madhuri Dixit and Sanjay Dutt, was announced a month ago.

Here's wishing the actress a very happy birthday and a great year ahead.