ABOUT GENELIA

Genelia D'Souza Young woman with dark eyes and long dark hair, wearing a glamorous black strapless dress Genelia D'Souza at Love Big & CBS press meet, June 2012 BornGenelia D'Souza 5 August 1987 (age 27)[1] Mumbai , Maharashtra , India OccupationActress, model, host Years active2003–present ReligionChristianity DenominationMangalorean Catholic Spouse(s)Riteish Deshmukh  (m. 2012) Children1 *Genelia D'Souza* (born 5 August 1987)[1] [2]  is an Indian film actress, model, and host. She has appeared inSouth Indian cinema  and Bollywood films. After gaining wide attention in aParker Pen  commercial with Amitabh Bachchan , Genelia began her acting career with "Tujhe Meri Kasam " in 2003. She was recognized for her role in "Boys "the same year, and later established herself in Telugu cinema  by acting in several Telugu films during 2003–2005. Genelia received her first Filmfare Award  in 2006 for her performance in the Telugu romantic film, "Bommarillu ", which earned her critical acclaim. In 2008, she gave critically acclaimed performances in "Santosh Subramaniam ", a Tamil remake of"Bommarillu", and the Bollywood movie"Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na ". Having acted in several commercially successful movies in Telugu and Tamil, Genelia has established herself as one of the leading actresses of the South Indian film industry.[3] [4]  In addition to movie acting, Genelia has hosted the television show "Big Switch ", and is the brand ambassador of Fanta , Virgin Mobile India , Fastrack, LG  Mobiles,Garnier  Light, Margo , and Perk in India.[5] Early life Genelia with her family at the CNBC Awaaz consumer awards in 2010. Seen here from left to right is her father Neil D'Souza, her mother Jeanette D'Souza, herself, and at the extreme right, her brother Nigel D'Souza. Born in Mumbai [6]  into a Mangalorean Catholic  family,[7] [8]  Genelia was raised as a Roman Catholic  in the Bandra suburb of Mumbai. Her mother tongue is Konkani .[9] [10]  Her mother Jeanette D'Souza was formerly a managing director of the Pharma Multinational corporation  (MNC), who left her job in 2004 to help Genelia with her career. Her father Neil D'Souza, is a senior official with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).[11]  She also has a younger brother, Nigel D'Souza,[12] [13]  who works with the Bombay Stock Exchange .[14]  According to Genelia, her name means "rare" or "unique", and is a portmanteau  of Jeanette and Neil, her mother and father's names. She is also often informally referred to as "Geenu", her nickname.[15]  Genelia studied at the Apostolic Carmel High School in Bandra and later joined St. Andrew's College  in Bandra to pursue her Bachelor's Degree of Management Studies.[16]  She completed her degree while shooting for her first film, "Tujhe Meri Kasam " in 2003 and initially thought that an MNC job would suit her.[17]  She liked sports and studies in college,[17]  and was a state level athlete, sprinter , and a national levelfootball  player.[18] Genelia did her first modeling assignment at the age of 15,[10]  the result of being spotted as thebridesmaid  at a wedding.[17]  She was selected for the Parker Pen  commercial with Amitabh Bachchan , just two days before her exams, and had to shoot the next day. Initially she refused, because of her exam the next day, but the director persuaded Genelia to shoot for the commercial.[17] [19]  She gained wide attention from the Parker Pen commercial with Amitabh Bachchan,[20] who said "she was good, and her expressions were spontaneous".[21]  She further did a Fair and Lovely  2003 Cricket World Cup  advertisement with cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth .[19] >