BIPASHA BASU

BIPASHA BASU was born on 7 January 1979 in New Delhi to a Bengali Hindu family. She is the second of three sisters, the elder one being Bidisha and the younger one, Bijayeta. She lived in Delhi till the age of eight in Pampoosh Enclave, Nehru Place and studied at Apeejay High School. Her family then moved to Kolkata where she studied science till 12^th standard at Bhavan's Gangabux Kanoria Vidyamandir.  BIPASHA BASU describes herself as a tomboy, was pampered as a kid and was very naughty. She was fondly called 'Lady Don' in her school as everyone was scared of her and she was short and round. Basu moved to the commerce stream after 10^th standard, studying at Bhawanipur Education Society College in preparation for the 12^th standard board exams (which she never attempted). At this time, she began doing ramp shows and modeling part-time. In 1996, she participated in the Godrej Cinthol Supermodel Contest and won it. 

BIPASHA BASU was flown to New York by the Ford Company and began her successful modelling career at the age of 17. She then appeared in the Caldia commercial along with her then-boyfriend Dino Morea which was controversial for picturising them sultrily. She was even jailed in Dubai for doing the ad but things cooled off soon.  She has also worked in Telugu, Bengali and Tamil language films.

One of the judges of the Godrej Cinthol Supermodel Contest in which  Basu participated, Vinod Khanna, wanted to launch her alongside his son Akshaye Khanna in Himalay Putra, but she felt she was too young and declined the role which eventually went to Anjala Zaveri. After returning home, she was convinced by another judge, Jaya Bachchan, to play the role of a village belle opposite her son Abhishek Bachchan in J. P. Dutta’s Aakhari Mughal. However the film was cancelled, and Dutta instead changed the script and made Refugee with Kareena Kapoor.  Basu  was also offered a role in Refugee opposite Sunil Shetty, which she declined. 

In 2001, Basu finally made her debut opposite Akshay Kumar in Vijay Galani’s Ajnabee. The film was inspired by theAmerican film, Consenting Adults and was directed by the duo, Abbas-Mustan. Ajnabee was a moderate box-office success and attracted unfavorable reviews from critics. However, Basu’s performance in a negative role was appreciated by critics and won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. 

In 2003,  Basu  starred in Pooja Bhatt’s thriller, Jism, which was well received by critics and fared well at the box office.  She essayed the role of seductive, ambitious wife of a millionaire who indulges in an extra-marital affair with an alcoholic lawyer and plots to kill her husband. The film ranked 92 in the top 100 sexiest movie scenes poll conducted by Channel 4 

Basu was in a relationship with her Raaz co-star Dino Morea since 1996 but they broke up in 2002. Soon afterwards, during the filming of Jism,  Basu  began to date her co-star John Abraham, and they were in a relationship till early 2011 when the couple officially broke off. While together, the two were often referred to as a super couple in the Indian media.   Basu  has been in the limelight since her bold role inJ ism. Her relationships with various co-stars have been often covered by the media. She is known to be freely expressing herself in the public and jovial with her co-stars. She has been described by the media as sultry, dusky Bengali beauty. She ranked 8 in Times 50 most desirable Women in 2011.  In 2005 and 2007, UK magazine Eastern Eye named her the "Sexiest Woman in Asia".