Lara Dutta

Biography

Lara Dutta was born in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh on April 16, 1978. Her father L.K. Dutta is a retired Wing Commander and mother is a British national named Jennifer Puddi. Lara has two sisters, one of whom serves in the Indian Air Force, and she is the cousin of famed composer and DJ Nitin Sawhney.

When she was young, Dutta family shifted to Banglore in 1981. She grew up there and did her schooling. She attended St.Francis Xavier Girl's High School till 10th standard and then joined Frank Anthony Public School for her higher secondary course. After completing her school, she later graduated in economics with a minor in communications from Bombay University at Bangalore. She was interested in modeling and at the age of 16, she moved to Mumbai to realize her dream. There she became a successful print and ramp models. She was then selected for Gladrags' annual modeling competition and she won the contest. She then got the opportunity to participate in 1997 Miss Intercontinental pageant, and she won the contest there too.

When she came back, she was offered many modeling assignments and ad campaigns for [products like Synergie, Ceat, Coke and Sprite which made her popular. She then participated in Miss Femina India contest and won the title which made her way clear for her participation to the Miss Universe Contest (2000) in Cyprus, Venezuela.

She won the Miss Universe title (2000) earned the name beauty with brain. The jury gave her 9.99 marks which was the highest score ever scored by an individual in the history of Miss Universe contest. She became the second Indian to win the title, first being the Sushmita Sen (1994).

Career in Movie

With prestigious titles in hand, she was soon flooded with plenty of lucrative offers from Bollywood. Her debut film was Andaaz. She got Filmfare Best Female Debut Award for Andaaz. The film fared well at box office and its music was hit. Her next movie was Mumbai Se Aya Mera Dost, which too was hit and her role was appreciated in both the movies. In 2006, she starred in the comedy, Bhagam Bhag which did well at the box office. In 2007 her first release was Shaad Ali's Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, but that movie was not rated well in India but it received good response from overseas viewers, minly from the people of the UK. Her box office hits include Masti (2004), Kaal (2005), No Entry (2005) and Partner (2007).

She has efficiently managed her professional and social life. She participated in various AIDS related events and worked along with the UNFPA. As the reigning Miss Universe, she traveled across the world on behalf of the Miss Universe organisation to promote their official cause of building AIDS/HIV awareness. After finishing her reign, Lara returned to school to complete her MBA in marketing and communications.