Genelia D’Souza is an Indian actress and model who works in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu films.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Genelia Deshmukh (married name) was born on Wednesday, 5 August 1987 (age 31 years; as in 2018) in Mumbai. Her zodiac sign is Leo.
She was raised in Bandra suburbs of Mumbai. She did her schooling from Apostolic Carmel High School in Bandra, Mumbai and went on to pursue Bachelors in Management Studies from Apostolic Carmel High School in Bandra.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5’6″
Eye Colour: Black
Hair Colour: Black
Family, Caste & Husband
She belongs to the Marathi-speaking Mangalorean Catholic Family. Her father, Neil D’Souza is a senior official with the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Her mother, Jeanette D’Souza is former managing director of Pharma Multinational corporation.
She has a brother named Nigel D’Souza, who works with the Bombay Stock Exchange.
She got married to Ritesh Deshmukh on 3 February 2012.
The couple has two sons named Riaan (born-25 November 2014) and Rahyl (born-1 June 2016).
Career
She started her career as a model at the age of 15. She did an advertisement for Parker Pen with Amitabh Bachchan, which gave her wide attention from the public.
She made her Bollywood debut with the movie “Tujhe Meri Kasam” in 2003.
Simultaneously, she made her Tamil film debut with the movie “Boys” and Telegu film debut with the movie “Satyam” in 2003.
The year 2006 marked the turning point in her career in South Indian Films; she did two Telugu Movies, “Happy” and “Raam” in early 2006 and then “Bommarillu,” which was a super-hit.
She also did a Tamil film “Chennai Kadha” in the same year. She returned to the Bollywood 5 years later with the movie “Mere Baap Pehle Aap” in 2008, which failed at the box office. She then did the role of Aditi Mahant in the movie “Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na,” which became very popular.
Apart from doing lead roles in the films, she has also made cameo appearances in the movies “Jai Ho” and “Lai Bhaari” in 2014. She made her first Tv Appearance in the TV Show “Tere Mere Beach Mein (a celebrity chat show hosted by Farah Khan)” alongside Shahid Kapoor.
Controversies
- She stirred controversy for attending 2010 IIFA Awards in Columbo. Because of the alleged killing of Tamilians in Sri Lanka at the expense of conflict between the Sri Lanka Army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009, many Bollywood actors and South Indians had boycotted the event. The rumours aroused when Ritesh Deshmukh was spotted at the festival in Columbo. Several Tamil groups and Tollywood associations demanded her to get banned.
- In 2011, during the shooting of the wedding sequence for the film “Force” with John Abraham, someone clicked their photo. The photo went viral, claiming that they both are married.
- Soon after the news of the wedding of Genelia and Ritesh Deshmukh spread, the priest who had conducted the wedding of Genelia with John Abraham on the sets of the film “Force,” claimed that Genelia and John were already married and she could not get married to Ritesh Deshmukh again. The priest even stormed in producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah’s office to register a complaint against Genelia.
Awards
- Filmfare Award for the film “Bommarillu” in 2006
Nandi Awards (presented by the Government of Andhra Pradesh)
- Nandi Special Jury Award for the film “Bommarillu” in 2006
- Nandi Special Jury Award for the film “Katha” in 2009
Favourite Things
- Food: Roast Chick With Stuffing and Palm Sauce, Christmas Pudding
- Actor(s): Amitabh Bachchan, Om Puri, Shah Rukh Khan
- Actress(s): Sandra Bullock, Aishwarya Rai
- Films: Devdas, Dark Knight (2008), Titanic (1997)
- Colour(s): Black, White Red
- Perfume Brand(s): XX, Diamond
- Travel Destinations(s): Italy, London
- Festival: Christmas
- Book: “The China Study” by T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell
Facts
- She likes watching movies, listening to music and travelling.
- According to Genelia, her name is a portmanteau (in linguistics, a blend of words) of her parents, Jeanette and Neila; her name means ‘rare’ or ‘unique.’
- Her nickname is ‘Geenu.’ She is often referred to as ‘Cheenu’ or ‘Bubbly Girl’ in Bollywood.
- In an Interview, she revealed that she is deeply religious. She added that she attended the Sunday Mass at St. Anne’s Parish (Bandra) regularly and kept novena (an ancient Christian way of prayer, which is repeated for nine successive days) every Wednesday at St. Michael’s Church in Mahim. Whenever she is with her family, they spend a part of their evening in saying the rosary together.
- Her mother left her job in 2004 to help Genelia with her career.
- During her college days, she was a state level athlete and a national level football player.
- She completed her bachelor’s degree while shooting for her film “Tujhe Meri Kasam (2003).”
- She gained popularity when she did an advertisement for ‘Fair & Lovely’ during the 2003 cricket world cup.
- She was linked with Ritesh Deshmukh, ever since they did their first movie “Tujhe Meri Kasam (2003).” Reportedly, they were going to get engaged, but Ritesh’s father didn’t agree for their marriage. However, Genelia denied all the rumours and eventually, they tied the knot in 2012.
- Genelia is associated with the organisation called “Banyan,” a voluntary organisation which rehabilitates homeless women with mental illness in Chennai.
- She was also one of the judges at the Grand Finale of the ‘Gladrags Mega Model and Manhunt 2009’ held on 28 March 2009.
- She holds the Limca world record of delivering four different super hit films in four different languages in a calendar year, i.e., Ready (Telugu), Satya in Love (Kannada), Santosh Subramaniam (Tamil), and Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na (Hindi).
- Genelia has also been the brand ambassador for a number of popular TV commercials such as Fanta, Perk, Virgin Mobile India, Fastrack (watches and accessories), LG Mobiles, Garnier Light fairness cream, Dabur Vatika hair oil, Margo soap, and Spinz deodorant.
I am a bit surprised that Genelia actually signed 3 movie offers at the age of 16 infact she must have been 20. She was from my batch in St Andrews college. So if i am 37 she cannot be 32 years old. Her real age should be nearing 38 years.