Varun Dhawan was born on April 24, 1987, in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. He hails from a family with strong connections to the Indian film industry. His father, David Dhawan, is a renowned film director, and his mother is Karuna Dhawan. He has an elder brother, Rohit Dhawan, who is also a film director.

Varun completed his HSC education from the H.R. College of Commerce and Economics. He then went on to graduate from Nottingham Trent University, UK, with a degree in Business Management.

Varun began his career as an assistant director to Karan Johar on the film 'My Name Is Khan' (2010). He made his acting debut in 2012 with Johar's teen film 'Student of the Year' alongside Sidharth Malhotra and Alia Bhatt. Since then, he has starred in 11 consecutive box-office successes between 2012 and 2018.

Some of his notable works include 'Main Tera Hero' (2014), 'Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania' (2014), 'Badrinath Ki Dulhania' (2017), 'Dilwale' (2015), 'Dishoom' (2016), 'Judwaa 2' (2017), 'ABCD 2' (2015), and 'Sui Dhaaga' (2018). He also received praise for playing against type as an avenger in the thriller 'Badlapur' (2015) and an aimless man coping with loss in the drama 'October' (2018).

Varun has been recognized for his talent with several awards. He won the Stardust Award for Breakthrough Performance Male for 'Student of the Year' in 2013. In 2015, he won the Star Guild Awards for Best Actor in a Comic Role for the film 'Main Tera Hero'.

Varun married Natasha Dalal in 2021. He is known to be a non-smoker. He enjoys dancing, swimming, and reading.

Varun is known for his fitness regimen. He works out for about one and a half hours, four to six times a week, focusing on pilates and weight training. He also follows intermittent fasting for about 14 to 16 hours every day. His hobbies include dancing, swimming, and reading.