Pallavi Sharda (born 5 March 1988) is an Australian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer of Indian descent, known for her versatile work across Indian and international film and television industries. She gained early recognition by winning the Miss India Australia beauty pageant in 2010 and made her Bollywood debut with Besharam (2013), followed by prominent roles in Hawaizaada (2015) and Begum Jaan (2017). Internationally, she is best known for her role in the Academy Award-nominated film Lion (2016) and has also appeared in Australian productions like Save Your Legs! (2012), the TV series Les Norton (2019), and Netflix’s romantic comedy Wedding Season (2022).

Born in Perth, Western Australia, Sharda was raised in Melbourne in an academically accomplished Indian family. Her parents, Hema and Nalin Kant Sharda, are IIT alumni with PhDs in science and engineering. The family migrated to Australia in the 1980s, and Pallavi grew up in Melbourne’s outer north-western suburbs. She attended Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School in Essendon on an academic scholarship and pursued higher education at the University of Melbourne, where she graduated with honours in Law (LLB) and Arts (Media & Communications), also completing a Diploma in Modern Languages (French).

Beyond acting, Pallavi is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer and actively advocates for cross-cultural representation in media. Since 2021, she has continued to diversify her portfolio with roles in Tom & Jerry (2021), the Australian courtroom drama The Twelve, and other international projects, cementing her reputation as a global performer bridging Indian and Western entertainment industries.