Interesting Facts and Figures: Lara Dutta

Lara Dutta: It is not a secret that Bollywood beauty Lara Dutta is a beauty with brains. This was demonstrated when she scored the highest possible marks in the history of the Miss Universe Contest. After this she was crowned Miss Universe 2000, making history as not only the most beautiful but also the most intelligent young woman to wear this crown in the history of Miss Universe. 

Birthday: 16th April, 1978 in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Debut Film: Andaaz (2003).

Major Impact: Andaaz (2003).

Successful Films: Andaaz (2003), Masti (2004), Kaal (2005), No Entry (2005), Bhaagam Bhag (2006), Partner (2007), Billu (2009).

Awards: Winner of the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award for Andaaz.

Upcoming Films: Blue and Bhanda Yeh Bindaas Hai.

Facts we didn’t know:

Her dad is retired Wing Commander L.K. Dutta and her mother is Jennifer Dutta. Lara has two sisters, one of whom serves in the Indian Air Force, and is the cousin of DJ Nitin Sawhney.

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 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 defense of the Miss Universe contest (and other beauty pageants), she became the second Indian Miss Universe. In the same year, Priyanka Chopra and Diya Mirza won their respective Miss World and Miss Asia Pacific titles which gave India a rare triple victory in the world of beauty pageants.

Was offered a role in The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003), but turned the part down because she didn’t like the script.

Angered at the leading fashion magazine "Gladrags" for allegedly using her photographs for a forthcoming modeling contest without her permission, Lara has filed a suit in the Bombay High Court.

She is half Scottish on her mother’s side. - SAMPURN