Amisha Amit Patel, commonly known as Ameesha Patel was born in Mumbai on June 9, 1976. She completed her schooling in Mumbai before heading to Massachusetts for her undergraduate degree in Economics from Tufts University. She began her career as an economic analyst at Khandwala Securities Ltd., but soon turned to acting with Satyadev Dubey’s theatre group as well as modelling and acting in commercial campaigns such as those for Bajaj Sevashram, Lux, and Fair & Lovely.

Patel’s film career started off due to her extraordinary success with Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai (2000). The role was one she had earlier refused in order to pursue her studies in the US, but she was re-offered the role by Rakesh Roshan – the film’s director and her father Amit Patel’s friend – after Kareena Kapoor dropped out at the last minute. Patel debuted opposite Hrithik Roshan, and both actors as well as the film received unprecedented acclaim.

Patel continued to act in several early successes including the Telugu film Badri (2001) and Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001), both of which did extremely well, commercially as well as critically. Her first few films remain the ones that Patel is most commonly identified with, and also those she considered most crucial to her development as an actress. “KNPH gave me a platform, an acceptance, it made me popular. Gadar has marked me as an actress … It affected me deeply.”

She won the Filmfare Special Performance Award in 2002, for Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001) as well as the Zee Cine Awards for the Best Female Debut in Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai (2000).

These were followed by several failures and one more success in the form of Abbas-Mustan’s Humraaz (2002), after which Patel’s career went through a low phase lasting several years.

Her career later picked up with the comedy-drama Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. (2007), and thriller Bhool-Bhulaiyaa (2007), only to enter into yet another slump soon after. Various shelved projects and drop-outs from films for an assortment of reasons led to a two-and-a-half year absence from any new releases, which ended with her appearance in a Telugu film, Parama Veera Chakra (2011).

Following this, Patel began a new phase of her career and turned to film production, starting her own company along with Kuunal Goomer called Ameesha Patel Productions. However, she continued to act, and appeared in films like Race 2 (2013) and Shortcut Romeo (2013), both of which got lukewarm critical responses despite the former being a commercial success.

Along with her acting and producing career, Patel has performed in numerous live shows and concerts. Her humanitarian efforts have also been noteworthy, and she has supported several campaigns and causes like PETA, earthquake relief fundraisers, support for the disabled, literacy efforts, and anti-human trafficking movements.

Patel is currently working on her home production, Desi Magic, a film directed by Mehul Atha which she is co-producing and starring in.