Deepika Padukone's "Center Has Shifted" Now That She's a Mom

(Image credit: Rid Burnam)

Deepika Padukone is a new mom to daughter Dua, whom she shares with husband Ranveer Singh—and by all accounts, motherhood suits the Bollywood actress.

The husband in question tells Marie Claire as part of a cover story for our new Motherhood Issue that Padukone's "center has shifted" since becoming a mom.

"This is the best version of Deepika I have ever known," Singh says in an email. "As it is often said, 'the way you do one thing is the way you do everything.' That holds true in the case of Deepika as a mother. She is completely present. Absolutely immersed. Extremely attentive, sensitive, caring, and beautifully gentle."

Singh also shares that his wife sends him a daily roundup of Instagram Reels full of parenting tips—and he loves it.

"I must say all of them are extremely insightful and helpful," he tells Marie Claire. "Everything in Deepika’s life now revolves around Dua. Everything else comes secondary, sometimes even her own health."

It's not surprising that the Om Shanti Om actress is "absolutely immersed" in motherhood, as Singh puts it: She had known she wanted to be a mother almost her entire life.

Her sister Anisha was born when Padukone was five years old, and her "maternal instincts kicked in" even then. "I think nurturing, protecting comes to me very naturally," the star says.

While she always wanted children, the actress wasn't in a rush, and she says Singh let her "take the lead" on when that next step happened for them following their 2018 marriage.

"He was like, 'It's your body. Yes, it's a together decision, but eventually it's your body that's going to go through it. So whenever you feel ready.'"

Padukone is one of Marie Claire's Power Moms for 2025, alongside the singer Kali Uchis and fellow actress Gabrielle Union, among others.

The Motherhood Issue

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.