|
********************
| |
Lara Dutt
Lara Dutta (born April 16, 1978) is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. She was crowned Miss Universe in 2000.
Dutta was born in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh to father Wing Commander L.K. Dutta (retired) and mother Jennifer Dutta. Her family moved to Bangalore in 1981 where she completed high school. Her sister serves in the Indian Airforce. Lara graduated in economics with a minor in communications from Bombay University.
In 2001, she gained some attention in the United States for dating New York Yankees shortstop, Derek Jeter. Their relationship lasted for approximately one year.
Career
Dutta won the annual Gladsrags modelling competition in her native India, thus winning the right to be the first Indian representative at the 1997 Miss Intercontinental pageant, in which she took first place. Later, she was crowned Femina Miss India Universe and Miss Universe in 2000.
At Miss Universe 2000 in Cyprus, Dutta was the clear favourite ahead of fierce competition from Venezuela, Spain, USA and Canada. Her finalist interview score, in the last year that such marks were televised, was the highest individual score in any category in the history of the Miss Universe contest, as her perfect interview saw a majority of the judges giving her the maximum 9.99 mark. After her final question, in which Dutta delivered a passionate defence of the Miss Universe contest (and other beauty pageants), she became the second Indian Miss Universe. Dutta clinched the Oscar dela Renta swimsuit competition, winning the Best in Swimsuit Award.
She made her film debut in 2002 with the Tamil movie Arasaatchi, co-starring Arjun and Kiran Rathod. She won the Filmfare Best Debut Award for the film.
According to the Miss India-Universe site, Lara Dutta states that she's ethnically Tamil/Punjabi/Nordic.
| |
|
