Shilpa Shetty

Shilpa Shetty

Background

Shilpa Shetty was born to Surendra and Sunanda Shetty in Tamil Nadu in southern India belonging to the Bunt community,[2] Shilpa's native language is Tulu but she can speak nearly ten languages at differing levels including English, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu, Tamil, Urdu and can understand basic French. [citation needed]
She attended St. Anthony Girls' High School, located in Chembur, and later attended Podar College. She was the captain of the baseball team and has earned a black belt in Karate [3]

Shilpa Shetty (Tulu: ಶಿಲ್ಪ ಶೆಟ್ಟಿ) (born 8 June 1975) is a four-time Filmfare Award-nominated Indian film actress, model, AIDS activist and PETA supporter. Since breaking into Indian film in 1993 in the film Baazigar, she has appeared in nearly 50 films and made her first lead role in 1994's Aag,[1]. At 5ft 10 inches (1.78m) she is one of Bollywood's tallest actresses and currently resides at the centre of the Hindi-language film industry in Mumbai, in western India. Her younger sister Shamita Shetty (born 1979) is also a Bollywood film actress.
In January 2007 she became a surprise contestant on the British reality show, Celebrity Big Brother UK and entered the Big Brother house on January 3, 2007.

CAREER

Shetty started her career by modelling for the soft drinks company Limca in 1991 at the age of 16.[4]
Her appearances in the adverts of Limca caught the attention of agents of the Bollywood film industry and she made her film debut in 1993 at the age of 18 in Baazigar, portraying a murder victim of her psychopathic boyfriend. Although she was a supporting actress alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, the film was a major success and earned her the Filmfare Award nomination for the Filmfare Best Debut Award.[citation needed]
In 1994 this was followed by Aag her first leading role and by the success of Main Khiladi Tu Anari opposite Akshay Kumar. In 1994 she also starred in Aao Pyaar Karen as the servant girl Chhaya. In 1995 she appeared in Hathkadi and in 1996 she appeared in the Telugu language film Sahasa Veerudu Sagara Kanya.
In 1997 she appeared in six different films Veedeva Dani Babu, Auzaar Prathna Thakur, Zameer: The Awakening of a Soul, Insaaf Divya, Prithvi Neha and Gambler Ritu.
She has since appeared in a number of films, such as Jaanwar (1999), Dhadkan (2000), Indian (2001), Fareb (2005), and Dus (2005). None of these films were major successes at the box office, although she won critical acclaim in 2004 with her performance as an AIDS victim in Phir Milenge (2004).
Shetty was featured in Mani Ratnam's stage show, Netru, Indru, Naalai. She has also featured in Jhalak Dikkhlaja, a Sony Entertainment Television dance show.[citation needed]
In 2004 Shetty was a guest judge on the popular Indian Idol television show. Her younger sister Shamita Shetty is a budding Bollywood actress and they worked together on the Baras Ja music video for Fareb.

Main article: Celebrity Big Brother 2007 (UK)
Shetty is currently a contestant in Celebrity Big Brother UK.[5] and is the first Indian celebrity drafted in to "sex up" the show.[6][7] Reportedly paid Rs.31.5m (£367,500) for her participation,[8] she wore a pink sari when entering the house and said to presenter Davina McCall, "I just want every Indian to be extremely proud that I'm in here".[9] 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."[10] Sister Shamita told the Times of India that this "is the boldest decision Shilpa has taken hitherto."[11] The Scotsman has reported that PETA are backing Shetty to win the contest and have urged British viewers to vote for her.[12][13]
On Day 2 of the show, Shetty instructed fellow housemates Carole Malone and Ken Russell in meditation. After they were unable to perform the exercise, she explained this as they're "not breathing right".[14] On Day 5, romance appeared to be on the cards as Dirk Benedict expressed his desire to woo her after several flirtations had occurred between them[15] and she admitted to finding him "sexy",[16] but tempers were starting to fray by Day 7 as a certain clique was beginning to form in the house which was not approving of Shilpa's presence.[17][18].
Support for non-profits

HIV-AIDS
In February 2006 Shetty lent her support to a BBC-endorsed television show designed to tackle the problem of HIV-AIDS in India.[43] The project, which also involved other celebrities Vivek Oberoi, Dia Mirza, and Raveena Tandon in separate episodes, featured Shetty as she shadowed a young achiever whose work involved raising awareness about the condition. "I have participated to show my solidarity to people living with HIV-Aids. I will do anything for them to feel wanted and special," she said.[43]
The issue is particularly close to Shetty's heart as she had portrayed an HIV-positive sufferer in her 2004 movie Phir Milenge. Speaking about the movie and HIV in general, Shetty said: "Why not a film on HIV positive patients? It is a social stigma in our society. We made this film to highlight this problem ... This film will bring about a social awareness about AIDS in our country. It is high time we talked about this in our society."[44]

Won
2005: AAHOA Award for Phir Milenge
2004: Special Awards for Phir Milenge
2004: Giant International Awards for Phir Milenge
2004: Indo-Pak's Young Achiever Awards
1998: Zee Gold Bollywood Awards, Best Supporting Actress for Pardesi Babu