Sushmita Sen

Sushmita Sen, the first Indian to win the Miss Universe pageant held at Manila, Philippines 1994 was born on November 19, 1975 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. Daughter of an Air Force Commander her family of Bengali origin was posted in Nagpur, then Jorhat, and finally in Delhi. She did her schooling with English Honors predominantly in the Air Force Silver School.

She was interested in modeling and took part in one or two fashion shows during her school days. After she finished her plus two, she participated in the Femina Miss India contest and from then on there was no looking back. 172.5cm tall girl, with her girl next-door looks shot to fame when she became The Femina Miss India in 1994. Her main assets- an intelligent mind, poise and linguistic competence finally won her the coveted Miss Universe Crown. Eighteen year old Sushmita Sen, the youngest among the 76 contestants charmed a million viewers as well as the judges with her amazing mental acumen.

After she won the crown she got more opportunities for modeling followed by a competitive career in Bollywood. Her first stint in the film world was a south Indian movie, ‘Rakshakan’ followed by ‘Dastak’ in Hindi. Her films in Hindi include ‘Biwi No.1’, ‘Sirf Tum’, ‘Nayak’ and so on. She has proved her mettle and excels in whatever she does, be it acting or dancing. Her dance numbers like ‘Shakalaka baby’ in Nayak, ‘Mehaboob Mere’ in Fiza has been much appreciated. She got rave reviews for the convincing portrayal of her character in the film ‘Filhaal’. She won the best supporting actress award in the year 2000 for her role in ‘Biwi No 1’. ‘Main Hoon Naa’ released in 2004, was one of the biggest hits of her career and her role in ‘Vaastu-Shastra’ the same year was very much appreciated.

In 2005, she played a lawyer in ‘Main Aisa Hi Hoon’ opposite Ajay Devgan and also starred in a remake of ‘Cactus Flower’, called ‘Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya’. Her most recent movies include ‘Zindaggi Rocks’ (2006), ‘Chingaari’, ‘Gulel’ (2006) and ‘Karma, Confessions and Holi’ (2006).

On the personal front, Sushmita likes instrumental music, writes poetry and columns for newspapers and is fond of children. She has adopted a baby girl whom she has named Renee. This brilliant, down to earth personality remains a much sought after women even years after she won the Miss Universe title and has proved that she has much more in her than just beauty.

Biography

Sushmita Sen was born on November 19, 1975 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. She is a well-known Bollywood actress and was India’s first Miss Universe in 1994.

Personal Life

Sushmita’s father Shubeer Sen is a retired Indian Air Force officer; her mother Subhra Sen worked as a fashion artist and jewellery designer. She has one brother, Rajeev Sen, and a sister, Neelam Sen. She married IT consultant Nauman Malik, famous personality billionare.

Sushmita’s mother tongue is Bengali. She was born in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, but grew up in Delhi. She attended school at Air Force Golden Jubilee Institute in Delhi. In Delhi, she studied English and planned a career in journalism.

In 2000, she adopted a daughter, Renee, as a single mother.

Career

In 1994, at the age of eighteen, Sushmita won the title of Miss India (beating out Aishwarya Rai). Later that year, she became the first Indian Miss Universe in the Miss Universe Pageant held in the Philippines and one of the youngest women to ever win the title. She then started working as an actress.

Her first movie, Rakshakan in Tamil, was a huge flop. Her subsequent movies like Dastak in 1996, where she played the victim of a stalker, too didn’t do well at the cinema. But her appearance as Rupali in David Dhawan’s movie Biwi No. 1 won her the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award in 1999.

So far, her biggest hit has been the 2004 movie Main Hoon Na, in which she starred as Shah Rukh Khan’s love interest. Later on, she played a lawyer in Main Aisa Hi Hoon opposite Ajay Devgan. In 2005, she also starred in a remake of Cactus Flower, called Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya: Sen played the lead opposite Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif and essayed the role of Ingrid Bergman. Her most recent movies include Karma, Confessions and Holi (2006) opposite Naomi Campbell, Ram Gopal Varma Ke Sholay (2006) and the recently announced Dulha Mil Gaya (2006) opposite Shahrukh Khan.

Awards & Nominations

IIFA Awards

2000 – Best Supporting Actress win for Biwi No.1 (1999)

Filmfare Awards

2000 – Best Supporting Actress win for Biwi No.1 (1999)
2003 – Best Supporting Actress nomination for Filhaal (2002)

Star Screen Awards

2000 – Best Supporting Actress win for Biwi No.1 (1999)
2003 – Best Supporting Actress nomination for Filhaal (2002)
2004 – Best Actress nomination for Samay: When Time Strikes (2003)

Zee Cine Awards

2000 – Best Supporting Actress win for Biwi No.1 (1999) Hi how is everyone doing? 2003: Best Supporting Actress win for Filhaal (2002)
2005 – Best Supporting Actress nomination for Main Hoon Na (2004)