Rajkummar Rao was born as Raj Kumar Yadav on 31 August 1984 in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. He studied at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), where he received formal training in acting before entering the Hindi film industry.
He made his acting debut with Love Sex Aur Dhokha (2010), directed by Dibakar Banerjee. He subsequently appeared in supporting roles in Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 2 and Talaash: The Answer Lies Within. His major breakthrough came in 2013, when he received widespread critical acclaim for Kai Po Che! and especially Shahid, in which he portrayed lawyer and human-rights activist Shahid Azmi.
His performance in Shahid earned him the National Film Award for Best Actor as well as the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor. He continued to demonstrate his range through films such as Queen, Aligarh, Trapped, Bareilly Ki Barfi, and Newton. His performance in Newton also brought him international recognition, including an Asia Pacific Screen Award.
Rajkummar Rao achieved a major commercial breakthrough with the horror-comedy Stree (2018). He later appeared in Ludo, Badhaai Do, Monica, O My Darling, and Srikanth. For Badhaai Do, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor, while his performance in Srikanth earned him the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor in 2025.
He continued his successful association with the Stree franchise through Stree 2 (2024), which became his highest-grossing release. In 2026, he also starred in Prahaar – The Ujjwal Nikam Story.