Lara Dutta is an Indian film actress and model best known as the winner of the Miss Universe international beauty pageant in 2000. She was born on 16 April, 1978 in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Her family moved to Bangalore in 1981 where she attended the St. Francis Xavier Girls' High School till the 10th Standard before moving to the Frank Anthony Public School. After graduating from school, she completed a degree in economics with a minor in communications for the University of Mumbai. Lara Dutta’s family have been prominent members of the Indian Air Force. She is also related to Nitin Sawhney, an international musician, composer, and DJ. Dutta first gained national attention by winning the Gladrags Megamodel Contest in 1997. The victory allowed her to enter and win the Miss Intercontinental Pageant that same year and establish herself as a model. In 2000, she was crowned Miss India and sent to Cyprus to compete in the Miss Universe contest. After earning the highest individual score in the history of the contest in her finalist interview, she became only the second Indian after Sushmita Sen to become Miss Universe. Winning the coveted title made Lara Dutta a household name and she soon found herself bombarded with offers to act in films. She made her debut alongside Priyanka Chopra, who won the Miss World title in 2000, in the commercially successful film Andaaz (2003). While the film opened to mixed reviews, both Dutta and Chopra were praised for their performances and tied for the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.

After a couple of box office failures in Bardaasht (2004) and Aan: Men at Work (2004), she found success in multi-starrer comedies like Masti (2004) and No Entry (2005). She was also seen in the blockbusters Partner (2007) and Housefull (2010). Despite these successes, Dutta never quite made it as a lead actor and continues to appear in supporting roles in films with an ensemble cast. An exception to this was Anthony D-Souza’s film Blue (2009) in which she plays the female lead, Mona. The film received largely negative reviews and fared poorly at the box office.

She then produced her first film, Chalo Dilli (2011), which was a commercial success. She has also made a special appearance in several films like Om Shanti Om (2007), Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) and Don 2 (2011), in which she was a dancer for the song “Zaraa Dil Ko Thaam Lo.”

Lara Dutta married Indian tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi on 16 February, 2011. They have a daughter, Saira.

She is also well-known for her contribution to Yoga, and has released a number of fitness videos for women.