Kiran Bedi is a trailblazer. She was born in Amritsar in 1949 as the second of four daughters. Kiran broke new ground by joining the élite Indian Police Service in 1972 and became the first and highest ranking woman to do so. Her humane and fearless approach has contributed greatly to innumerable innovative policing and prison reforms. Kiran has become a role model for policemen and women worldwide.

Today she is the most celebrated police officer, having been awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for government service, also called the Asian Nobel Prize. She has also received the Joseph Beuys Award and the Asia Region Award for Drug Prevention & Control by the International Organization of Good Templars (IOGT).

Besides her professional contributions, Kiran has founded two voluntary organizations, Navjyoti, which was set up in 1988 and India Vision Foundation in 1994.The foundations reach out to poor children who are given support for primary education and women who are offered adult literacy courses. Vocational training and counselling services are also provided in the slums, rural areas and prisons. Recently Kiran and her organizations were recognized by the United Nations Serge Sotiroff Memorial Award.

Kiran's degrees include: Hons in English from the Government College for Women, Amritsar; Masters in Political Science from Punjab University, Chandigarh; Law Degree form Delhi University; PhD - I.I.T in Delhi (Department pf Social Sciences) on Drug Abuse and Domestic Violence; Awarded Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship to write about the work done at Tihar Jail; Awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Guru Nanak Devi University; Awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by the City University of New York's (CUNY) School of Law in recognition of her "humanitarian approach to prison reforms and policing".

Kiran has also been an Asian Tennis Champion. She is also the author of numerous books, including the best seller 'I Dare'.

In 1979 she was awarded the Police Medal for Gallantry for conspicuous courage. She has also served as special commissioner (Intelligence) with the Delhi a Police. In 2003 she was appointed United Nations Civilian Police Adviser, the first woman to hold the post.

She is married to Shri Brij Bedi, a textile engineer in Amritsar, and they have one daughter Saina Bedi.