Lara Dutta Bhupathi (born 16 April 1978) is an Indian actress and supermodel who was

crowned Miss Universe 2000 and Miss Intercontinental 1997. She was the second woman
from India to be crowned Miss Universe, and has been the only delegate from India to win the
crown since. She made her Hindi debut in 2003 with the film Andaaz which was a box office
success and won her aFilmfare Best Female Debut Award & Screen Best Female Debut Award.
Dutta subsequently appeared in several commercially successful films,
including Masti (2004), Kaal (2005), and the year 2005 marked a turning point for her when she
played a leading role in the comedy No Entry (2005). Lara Dutta established herself as a leading
actress of Hindi cinema by playing primary roles in the comedies Bhagam
Bhag (2006), Partner (2007) and Housefull (2010). Apart from commercial success, Dutta has
received critical appreciation for her performances in the films Jhoom Barabar
Jhoom (2007), Billu Barber (2009), Chalo Dilli (2011) and David(2013).

Early life[edit]
Dutta was born to a Punjabi father and an Anglo-Indian mother.[2] Her father is Wing Commander
L.K. Dutta (retired) and her mother is Jennifer Dutta. She has two elder sisters, Sabrina, who
serves in the Indian Air Force and younger sister Cheryl.[3] Composer/DJNitin Sawhney is a
cousin of Lara Dutta.[4]
The Dutta family moved to Bangalore in 1981 where she completed high school from St. Francis
Xavier Girls' High School and the Frank Anthony Public School. She graduated with a degree
in economics and a minor in communications from the University of Mumbai. She is fluent in
English and Hindi but can speak Punjabi, Kannada, and French.[citation needed]

Career[edit]
Modelling, pageantry and early work (1995-2004) [edit]
Dutta won the annual Gladrags Megamodel India competition in her native India in 1995,[5][6] thus
winning the right to enter the 1997 Miss Intercontinental Pageant, in which she took first place.
[7]

Later, she was crowned Femina Miss India Universe in 2000.[8]

At Miss Universe 2000 in Cyprus, she achieved the highest score in the swimsuit competition
and her finalist interview score was the highest individual score in any category in the history of
the Miss Universe contest, as her interview saw a majority of the judges giving her the maximum
9.99 mark.[9]
After her final question, in which she delivered a defense of the Miss Universe contest (and other
beauty pageants), she became the second Indian Miss Universe. Dutta's win led to her
appointment as a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador in 2001.[10] In the same year, Priyanka
Chopra and Dia Mirza won their respective Miss World and Miss Asia Pacific titles which gave
India a rare triple victory in the world of beauty pageants.[9][11] She signed up for
the Tamil film, Arasatchi in 2002, but due to financial problems, it was only released in mid-2004.
She made her Hindi debut in 2003 with the film Andaaz which was a box office success and won
her a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award. She then went onto appearing in Bardaasht, which
failed to do well at the box office. Her next release Aan: Men at Work was also a flop in

India. Insan, Elaan and Jurm also ended up failing to do well at the box office. She later
appeared in Masti.