Monali Thakur, born on 3 November 1985, is an Indian singer and actress known for her work in the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada film industries. She has received numerous awards, including a National Film Award for the song "Moh Moh Ke Dhaage" from the film "Dum Laga Ke Haisha" (2015) and a Filmfare Award for the song "Sawaar Loon" from the film "Lootera" (2013). She has also served as a judge on Zee TV's singing reality show "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs 2014" and as an "expert" on Colors TV's "Rising Star" for two seasons.

Born into a Bengali Hindu Rajput musical family in Kolkata, Thakur comes from a musical background. Her father, Shakti Thakur, was a singer and actor in the Bengali film industry, and her sister, Mehuli Thakur, is a playback singer in Bengal. Monali has learned hip-hop, Bharatanatyam, and salsa dance forms.

Thakur started her singing career by participating in school and college competitions and performing at local functions. In 1999, at the age of 14, she recorded the title track of the Bengali serial "Shri Ramkrishna" and received the Best Playback Singer Award at the Anandalok Awards for her performance. She gained popularity after securing the ninth position in the singing competition show "Indian Idol 2."

After "Indian Idol," Thakur faced challenges in establishing herself in the music industry. However, she got a breakthrough opportunity when music director Pritam Chakraborty offered her two songs for the Bollywood film "Race" in 2008, namely "Khwab Dekhe" (Sexy Lady) and "Zara Zara Touch Me." The song "Zara Zara Touch Me" became a huge success and garnered her nominations for the IIFA Award for Best Female Playback and the Apsara Award for Best Female Playback Singer.

Thakur's singing career continued to flourish, and she won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the song "Sawaar Loon" from the film "Lootera" (2014). She received further acclaim, including a National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the song "Moh Moh Ke Dhaage" from the film "Dum Laga Ke Haisha" (2015).

Apart from playback singing, Thakur has released several singles, including "Tamanna" (2018), "Shy Mora Saiyaan" (2018), "O Re Naseeba" (2019), "Pani Pani Re" (2019), "Dugga Elo" (2019), "Dil Ka Fitoor" (2020), and more.

In her personal life, Thakur married Maik Richter, a restaurateur based in Switzerland, in 2017. She met Richter during a backpacking trip to Switzerland, where he was her Airbnb host. Thakur publicly announced their marriage in June 2020 after releasing her single "Dil Ka Fitoor," which features her along with Maik.

Thakur has also ventured into acting. She appeared in Bengali television shows as a child and made her acting debut in the Bengali film "Krishnakanter Will." She later made her Bollywood debut in Nagesh Kukunoor's film "Lakshmi" (2014) and has made cameo appearances in films such as "PK" (2014) and "Secret Superstar" (2017). Thakur