Sonam, bold and beautiful at 28

Bollywood's very own fashionista Sonam Kapoor has a lot going for her as she turns 28. Her much-awaited films Raanjhanaa and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag are set for release. She has already started working on a Yash Raj Film project as well as on the remake of Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Khoobsurat.

Meanwhile, the actress has already managed to make a name for herself with her fashion choices especially at big ticket events such as the Cannes International Film Festival.

Here's a pictorial journey through her life and career as she turns a year older.

Sonam is the eldest daughter of Anil Kapoor and Sunita. She is the granddaughter of filmmaker Surinder Kapoor.

She has two uncles - Boney Kapoor is a famous producer while Sanjay Kapoor was an actor. Boney is now married to famous actress Sridevi.

Sonam has one sister, Rhea, and a brother, Harshvardhan. Rhea made her Bollywood debut as a producer with Aisha and she also styles Sonam at times.

Sonam went to Arya Vidya Mandir school in Juhu and then went to the United World College of South East Asia for her International Baccalaureate. Then she studied Political Science and Economics from University of East London.

The actress, whose style is the talk of B-Town and is looked up to by many young girls today, weighed 86 kilos before becoming an actress and she lost over 30 kilos after Bhansali singed her for Saawariya.

She was linked with her Saawariya co-star Ranbir Kapoor but no relationship was ever formally confirmed.

There were also rumours that she was seeing her Delhi 6 co-star VJ Cyrus Sahukar.

Her last rumoured boyfriend was her I Hate Luv Storys director Punit Malhotra but the actress has been typically tightlipped so far.

Before making her big Bollywood debut with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Saawariya opposite Ranbir Kapoor in 2007, she worked as an assistant director for the filmmaker in Black (2005).

Sonam and Ranbir put in fair performances but the film proved to be a major disaster at the box office, except its hit soundtrack.

Then came Rameysh Om Prakash Mehra's Delhi 6, which gave her the famous nickname Masakali girl of Bollywood. The film was another dud in her short career though Sonam's performance was praised.

Next came Punit Malhotra's I Hate Luv Storys, (2010) in which she starred opposite Imran Khan. The movie was a success at the box office.

She was seen in her home production Aisha (2010) which was a film adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma. Next came a comedy Thank You in 2011, which also failed to make a mark at the box office.

She was also seen romancing Shahid Kapoor in Mausam (2011), which was the directorial debut of noted actor Pankaj Kapur.

Her last release was multi-starrer Players directed Abbas Mustan , opposite Abhishek Bachchan. The film was the Hindi remake of The Italian Job and it Made news more for Sonam's middle finger act than the actual content.

The pretty actress will soon be seen on the silver screen in Raanjhnaa where she plays a girl from small town Varanasi and then in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Bhaag Milkha Bhaag opposite Farhan Akhtar.

As famous for the clothes she wears than the roles she plays, Sonam made her third successful trip to the Cannes Film Festival this year as the brand ambassador of L'Oreal. And she didn't disappoint us this time either.

Her opening ceremony outfit was an Anamika Khanna vintage-look white and gold sari worn with a trailing jacket. Her second red carpet outfit was equally dramatic, a strapless floral Dolce & Gabbana dress with a voluminous skirt that she wore with her hair down and a Sunita Kapoor necklace. In between her stunning red carpet appearances, Sonam wore a gothic black net Shehla Khan lehenga with an off-shouldered choli to the Chopard party.

Sonam is a regular on the cover of fashion magazines.

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