Sima Taparia, 58

After the viral web show, the matchmaker has become a household name, with business booming amid a crisis

In a world where impersonal, app-based algorithms are churning out choices of potential life partners, Mumbai-based matchmaker Sima Taparia brings to the table a generous helping of warmth and emotion. A swish salwar-kameez, neat, side-parted hair, an understanding smile and a chatty eagerness — Taparia is like the cool aunty who, both your mother and you, can open up to. And when Netflix original Indian Matchmaking dropped in July 2020, Sima aunty came home to millions of viewers across the globe, becoming an Internet sensation overnight in the middle of a trying pandemic.