Happy Birthday Dia Mirza: Salaam Bollywood@35

Former beauty queen, actress, producer and social activist, Dia Mirza, won hearts with her beautiful smile and bubbly persona. As Bollywood's Dumdaar heroine turns a year older today, here's a pictorial look at her personal life and journey in showbiz.

This image was posted on Facebook by Dia Mirza

Dia was born on December 9, 1981 in Hyderabad to German interior designer Frank Handrich and Bengali mother Deepa. Her parents separated when she was six. Dia adopted the surname of her step-father Ahmed Mirza, who died in 2004.

This image was posted on Facebook by Dia Mirza

Dia went to school in Khairatabad near Hyderabad. She then attended Stanley Junior College and graduated with a Bachelors of Arts degree from Ambedkar Open University.

This image was posted on Facebook by Dia Mirza

In college, Dia landed modelling assignments for brands like Lipton, Walls and Emami.

This image was posted on Facebook by Dia Mirza

In 2000, she participated in the Femina Miss India pageant and became the second runner up.

Dia went on to win the Miss Asia Pacific pageant, completing India's hat-trick with Lara Dutta and Priyanka Chopra, also winning the Miss Universe and Miss World titles. The previous Indian to win Miss Asia Pacific was actress Zeenat Aman.

Dia began her Bollywood career with the film Rehnaa Hai Tere Dil Mein (2001) opposite R Madhavan. Though the movie did not do well at the box office, Dia was noticed for her performance.

Dia was then seen in a series of films like Deewanapan (2001), Tumko Na Bhool Payenge (2002), Tehzeeb (2002), Dum (2003) and Tumsa Nahin Dekha (2004). But none of the films had any significant impact at the box office.

In 2005, Dia played the role of Gayatri in the superhit film Parineeta, an adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's Bengali novel of the same name. It was a small role but Dia was convincing as the daughter of a rich businessman who becomes engaged to Shekhar, played by Saif Ali Khan.

In 2006, she featured in the second film of the Munnabhai franchise, Lage Raho Munnabhai, playing the role of Boman Irani's daughter. The film went on to become a blockbuster hit.

Meanwhile, Dia featured in several other films like Dus (2005) and Shootout At Lokhandwala (2007), but in small roles.

Apart from acting, Dia Mirza has been actively involved in addressing social issues and has been a part of various campaigns. The actress is an active member of Cancer Patients Aid Association, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Child Rights and You (CRY), and the Coca Cola foundation.

She also campaigned for the Narmada Bachao Andolan.

Dia also won the Green Award at IIFA 2012 for spreading awareness about environment-related issues.

This image was posted on Facebook by Dia Mirza

Dia co-founded the production house Born Free Entertainment with Sahil Sangha and actor Zayed Khan. Their first film under the banner was Love Breakups Zindagi which released in 2011. Their next project was Bobby Jasoos which featured Vidya Balan in the lead.

This image was posted on Facebook by Dia Mirza

Dia also starred opposite Arjun Rampal in 2014 movie Familywalah, but it proved to be a box office dud.

This image was posted on Facebook by Dia Mirza

Dia Mirza married her long-time boyfriend, producer Sahil Sangha, in an extravagant ceremony in New Delhi on October 18, 2014. Dia was beautiful in a Ritu Kumar ensemble and Sahil Sangha chose a Raghavendra Rathore achkan.

Apart from Bollywood, Dia has also featured in regional films like En Swasa Kaatre (Tamil) and Paanch Adhyay (Bengali).

This year Dia featured in an Iranian-Indian drama Salaam Mumbai is a 2016 film directed by Ghorban Mohammadpour.

Here's to wishing her a very happy birthday and a wonderful year ahead!

This image was posted on Facebook by Dia Mirza