Shilpa Shetty (born 8 June 1975) is a four-time Filmfare Award-nominated Indian film actress, model, AIDS activist and PETA supporter. Since making her debut in the film Baazigar (1993), she has appeared in nearly 50 films and made her first lead role in 1994's Aag. She is one of Bollywood's tallest actresses and currently resides at the centre of the Hindi-language film industry in Mumbai, India. Her sister Shamita Shetty is also a Bollywood film actress. Shilpa was crowned the winner of the British Celebrity Big Brother on 28 January 2007 with 63% of the final vote, becoming the first Indian to win the contest.

Background

Shilpa Shetty was born in a strict and traditional close-knit family that hails from the Bunt community of Karnataka, South India, although she was born in Tamil Nadu.She is the eldest daughter of Surendra and Sunanda Shetty, manufacturers of tamper-proof caps for the pharmaceutical industry, and her native language is Tulu although she can speak nearly ten languages at differing levels including English, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu, Tamil, Urdu and basic French. She attended St. Anthony Girls' High School, located in Chembur, and later attended Podar College. She was the captain of the baseball team and earned a black belt in Karate. Shetty currently lives in Mumbai with her parents and sister. Her younger sister Shamita Shetty is a budding Bollywood actress and they worked together in the film Fareb (2005).

Career

Shetty started her career by modelling for Limca in 1991 at age 16, and made her film debut in 1993 at age 17 in Baazigar, portraying a woman murdered by her psychopathic boyfriend. Although she was a supporting actress alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, the film was a major success and earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award. Her first leading role was in the film Aag in 1994, which was averagely received at the box office. She had a hit that same year with the film Main Khiladi Tu Anari opposite Akshay Kumar. This was followed by many films which were average to poor performers at the box office. Shetty starred another big film that year Aao Pyar Karen followed by Hathkadi in 1995 where she was working alongside actors such as Saif Ali Khan, Govinda and Madhoo but they failed at the box office. 1997 was one of her busiest years yet, she appeared in six different films, beginning with the small Telugu language film Veedeva Dani Babu. Her first major Bollywood film of that year was the action thriller Auzaar. Shilpa portrayed the character of Prathna Thakur alongside actors Salman Khan and Sanjay Kapoor. In 2000 Shetty received much acclaim for her role in Dhadkan which earned reasonable takings an the Indian box office. She received her first nomination under the Best Actress category at the Filmfare Awards although she lost to Karisma Kapoor. She would later go on to star with Kapoor in the film Rishtey (2002). Her performance as an eccentric fisherwoman was appreciated and she received a nomination under the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award category. 2004 was also a good year for Shetty with the release of Garv in which she portrayed a Muslim orphan and disillusioned table dancer starring opposite Salman Khan. Unlike the similar Chandni Bar, Garv was a cop drama that did not make the same social impact but which Shetty chose to do because she liked the subject. However, she received much acclaim for her performance in Phir Milenge after a sensitive portrayal of a successful city high-flyer who contracts HIV via unprotected sex and becomes a social outcast as a result. The film, based on 1993's Philadelphia, was perceived to have tackled a social taboo as yet unaddressed by Bollywood and earned Shetty a Filmfare Best Actress nomination, and also provided an impetus for her HIV-related charity work . The actress was also a guest judge on the Indian Idol television show. This marked a break from the previous trend of superficial song-and-dance items in favour of "meatier roles" exemplified by her film Dus (2005), an action thriller. Although it received average returns at the box office, Shetty stated that she had taken the role in order to reinvent herself by portraying the rather unconventional character of an anti-terrorist squad member. She also starred with her sister in the film Fareb in 2005. Shilpa had one release in 2006, the much delayed Shaadi Karke Phas Gaya Yaar. The film was a box office flop but she got good reviews for her role as a wife with negative shades. In 2006, she was a judge on Jhalak Dikhlaja, a Sony Entertainment Television dance show based on the original UK show Strictly Come Dancing. Shetty was once featured in Mani Ratnam's stage show, Netru, Indru, Naalai.

Celebrity Big Brother 2007

Shetty was a contestant in and the winner of Celebrity Big Brother UK. and is the first Indian celebrity included in the Celebrity version. Reportedly paid Rs.31.5m (£367,500) for her participation, she said to presenter Davina McCall, "I just want every Indian to be extremely proud that I'm in here". As for her participation, she stated: "I have zero expectations. The only thing I really hope to keep is my self-respect and my dignity." Sister Shamita told the Times of India that this "is the boldest decision Shilpa has taken hitherto." The Scotsman reported that PETA backed Shetty to win the contest and urged British viewers to vote for her. During her time, Shetty instructed fellow housemates Carole Malone and Ken Russell in meditation, flirted with Dirk Benedict and admitted to finding him "sexy", but tempers were starting to fray by Day 7 as a clique was beginning to form in the house which was not approving of Shilpa's presence. Following a worldwide controversy that publicised her as a target of racist bullying (see below) within the house, Shetty won the contest after gaining 63% of the public vote and described the experience as "incredible and overwhelming". She further thanked the public for "a fantastic opportunity to make my country proud". In February 2007, Shetty attended a reception at the House of Commons, by invitation of Keith Vaz MP to meet with British prime minister Tony Blair . She was also invited to meet with Queen Elizabeth II at Marlborough House in London in March 2007. During an interview on This Morning, Shetty confirmed that she had been asked to take the role of Preeti Choraria's sister in EastEnders. Shilpa said that after much thought she would be unable to take the role as it would mean all her other arrangments would have to go on hold. She was also the subject of a Sky One documentary entitled "The Real Shilpa Shetty", which was produced by British television production company Twofour. The large number of commercial offers that Shilpa received after winning Celebrity Big Brother themselves became reason for controversy with an increasing number of accusations about her riding the 'racism' wave to commercial gain

Personal life

Shetty is a frequent subject of speculation regarding romance. However, she has remained tight-lipped whenever questions of marriage are posed to her. Her previous relationships include a liason with actor Akshay Kumar, whom she met on the Main Khiladi Tu Anari set in 1994. The couple split in 2000 after he started dating Shetty's friend and fellow actress Twinkle Khanna after a previous indiscretion, and which led to Shetty's successfully suing of Stardust magazine for publishing a "damaging" report about the affair. In an interview for the Times of India, Shetty quashed rumours of a romance with director Anubhav Sinha and claimed to have changed her mobile phone number in order to concentrate on her busy schedule. But in a later interview for the Sunday Mirror a friend of Shetty revealed that she was "in love" with Sinha and that he was her "soulmate", but that she could not be with him for fear of parental disapproval, social stigma (Sinha is married with two children, although currently separated) and adverse public perception. Currently single and not dating, Shetty has stated that she plans to marry in three years.

Trivia

• One of her nicknames is "Silly Pooh".
• She was on the cover of the first issue of OK! Magazine to be sold in India and has since appeared on the front of the UK version.
  
• Within five days of setting up an email address to keep in touch with fans, Shetty was inundated with thousands of marriage proposals.
  
• After her stint on Celebrity Big Brother, an Irish priest hailed Shetty as a role model to young students awaiting confirmation.