Shabana Azmi is an internationally acclaimed actress who was a member of the Indian Parliament, and a UN Goodwill Ambassador. She is also a vocal and committed social and political activist. She has undertaken campaigns and made public statements over various issues, particularly social justice, rights of women, plight of slum dwellers and so on. She is a leading advocate of AIDS awareness in India. She is also a visiting Professor at Ann Arbor, Michigan and has addressed several universities in India and abroad, including Harvard, Columbia, Berkeley, MIT Boston, University of Chicago, University of London etc. on the need to relate communal harmony to issues of social justice.

For her sincerity and commitment in social activism, Shabana Azmi won the Rajiv Gandhi Award, Yash Bhartiya Award from the government of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India and the Padma Shri in 1988 from the Government of India. She was chosen by Time Magazine as 1 of 25 Asian heroes and the only woman amongst four Indians who has made a difference. Ms. Azmi was a former member of the Rajya Sabha. She is the also the winner of an unprecedented five National Awards for Best Actress in India.

Shabana Azmi completed her degree in Psychology at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, and she took a Diploma in Acting at the Film and Television Institute in Pune, India in 1972.