Ameesha Patel

Ameesha Patel (pronounced [əˈmiːʂa pəˈʈeːl]; born Amisha Amit Patel on June 9, 1975) is an Indian actress and model who predominantly appears in Bollywood films. She has also appeared in a few Telugu films and one Tamil film. She has won a Filmfare Award.

Patel made her acting debut in the romantic thriller blockbuster Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai. She rose to prominence by featuring in top grossing productions- Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001), which became one of the biggest hits in the history of Hindi cinema,[2] earning her a Filmfare Special Performance Award, Humraaz (2002) and Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007).

Patel was born in a Gujarati family[3] to Amit and Asha Patel. She is the sister of Ashmit Patel and the granddaughter of lawyer-politician Barrister Rajni Patel, who was the Congress Pradesh Committee President of Mumbai. She was born in the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai and has been a trained Bharatnatyam dancer since the age of five.[4] Her birth-name is a blend of the first three letters of her father’s name Amit and the last three letters of her mother’s name Asha.[5]

She studied at the Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai and was head girl for the academic year 1992–93 before heading to Tufts University in United States to study Bio-genetic engineering, which she studied for two years, and eventually switching to Economics.[4]

Patel’s career began as an economic analyst at Khandwala Securities Limited after graduation. Later on, she received an offer from Morgan Stanley but turned it down. After returning to India, she joined Satyadev Dubey’s theatre group and acted in plays, including an Urdu language play titled Neelam (1999), that was written by Tanveer Khan,[6] upon receiving permission from her conservative parents. At the same time she plunged into modelling, appearing in several commercial campaigns. Patel has also modelled for well-known Indian brands such as Bajaj, Fair & Lovely, Cadburys, Fem, Lux and many more.