While Katrina Kaif is known for her glamorous Bollywood lifestyle, her mother Suzanne Turquotte has chosen a remarkably different path. Suzanne moved from London to rural Tamil Nadu in 2008 and has spent years working for underprivileged children and communities. Living near Madurai, she runs charitable initiatives and a school, choosing a simple life away from the spotlight and modern luxuries.
Katrina Kaif
Katrina’s Mother Left London for Social Work
Suzanne established Relief Projects India after moving to Tamil Nadu. What began with free evening tuition centres for children studying in government schools gradually expanded into a wider community-development initiative covering education, healthcare and child protection. In 2015, she also founded Mountain View School. The school began with fewer than 30 young children and has since grown to educate more than 300 students.
Katrina Kaif
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Katrina has previously spoken about the difficult living conditions her mother accepted in rural Tamil Nadu. She revealed that electricity was available for only around 12 hours a day at the time she discussed her mother’s life, while internet connectivity was also unreliable. Katrina recalled that she sometimes could not FaceTime her mother because there was no electricity or internet, so they would simply speak over a regular phone call. She also mentioned the intense heat and the absence of air conditioning because of the power situation.
Katrina Kaif
Despite building a successful career of her own, Katrina has remained connected to her mother’s social-work efforts. Reports say the actress contributes a portion of her earnings from films and public appearances towards supporting the school and related initiatives. According to a Mid-Day source cited by India Today, Katrina prefers to keep her financial contributions private rather than publicly highlighting them.
Katrina Kaif
Katrina has also said that charity and helping people were part of her upbringing. She recalled that she and her siblings did not grow up surrounded by luxury and that her mother’s work exposed them to people from disadvantaged communities from a young age. For Suzanne, the decision to leave London and settle in rural Tamil Nadu was therefore not simply a lifestyle change. It became an extension of the charitable work she had already been involved in for years.