Early life
Shahrukh was born to a family of Indian freedom fighters. His father Taj Mohammed Khan, a freedom activist of Pathan background and Lateef Fatima, who was the daughter of Major General Shah Nawaz Khan of the Janjua Rajput clan, who served as a General in the Indian National Army of Subash Chandra Bose.

Shah Rukh Khan's father came to India from the Kissa Kahani Bazaar in Peshawar, before the Partition of India, whilst his mother's family came from Rawalpindi.

Khan has a sister named Shehnaz Lalarukh. Khan attended St. Columba's School where he was accomplished in sports, drama and academics. He won the Sword of Honour, an annual award bequeathed to the student who embodies most the spirit of the school. He later attended the Hansraj College (1985-1988) to earn an Honors degree in Economics.

After this, he studied for a Masters Degree in Mass Communications at Jamia Millia Islamia University.

He started his career in 1988 by appearing in the television series Fauji playing the role of Commando Abhimanyu Rai. He then played a minor role in the serial Circus in 1989, which depicted the life of circus performers. That same year he also had a minor role in the television film In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones. After the death of his parents Khan moved from New Delhi to Mumbai for a fresh start in 1991. He made his Bollywood film debut in Deewana (1992) which was a box office hit and launched his career in Bollywood.

As Raj in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)He got critical acclaim for his performances in Baazigar and Darr (1993), in which he played anti-hero and obsessive-lover roles respectively. In 1995 he starred in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge which was a critical and commercial success and has entered its twelfth year in Mumbai theaters, grossing over 12 billion rupees in all.

Recently he once again collaborated with Karan Johar in the multi-starrer film Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (2006) which has been very successful in India and overseas.  That same year he played the title role in Don (2006), a remake of the 1978 hit film Don which was also successful.

Khan also produces films and has had mixed success as both the producer and the star of his films. He set up a production company called Dreamz Unlimited with Juhi Chawla and director Aziz Mirza. The first two of the films he produced and starred in, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000) and Asoka (2001) were box office failures.

His third film, as a producer and star, Chalte Chalte (2003), was the first hit from his production house. In 2004 he set up another production company called Red Chillies Entertainment and produced and starred in Main Hoon Na which was another hit at the box office. In 2005 he produced and starred in Paheli, which was India's selection for the Academy Awards (foreign films category) but did not win. At the box office Paheli was a disappointment. That same year he also co-produced the film Kaal with Karan Johar and performed an item number for the film with Malaika Arora Khan. Kaal was moderately successful.

Nasreen Munni Kabir, the noted British filmmaker, produced a two-part documentary on Shah Rukh, The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan (2005). Featuring his 2004 Temptations concert tour, the film contrasted Khan's inner world of family and daily life with the outer world of his work. Recently another book "Still Reading Khan" (2006) was released on SRK which talks about his family and his life.

Khan was then chosen as the host of the third series of Kaun Banega Crorepati, the Indian version of Who wants to be a millionaire?, taking over from the original host Amitabh Bachchan. The show is deemed the most popular programme in Indian television history. On Monday, January 22, 2007, "KBC" aired with Khan as the new host. Reviews of Khan's hosting style has been generally positive. His sense of friendliness and humor with the show's participants has been praised. The season ended on April 19 2007.