John Abraham, Racing Ahead at 42

From Bollywood beefcake to one of its most popular actors and producers, John Abraham has come a long way from his days on the ramp as a fashion model.

As he turns 42, here is a look at the actor's journey so far in pictures.

John Abraham was born in Mumbai on December 17, 1972 to a Malayali father and a Parsi mother. John's Parsi name is Farhan. He and younger brother Alan went to the Bombay Scottish School in Mumbai.

John also did an MBA from the Mumbai Educational Trust.

John began his career with an appearance in a music video for Punjabi singer Jazzy B. He then joined a PR agency which eventually closed, after which he worked as a media planner. In 1991, his modeling career took off when he won the Gladrags Manhunt and went on to become the first runner up at the Manhunt International in Philippines.

After his win, John made it big in the modelling circuit. He was signed up by Carrie Models in Singapore and also worked in Hong Kong, London and New York. He appeared in music videos for singers Pankaj Udhas, Hans Raj Hans and Babul Supriyo.

In between his modelling assignments, he took acting classes from Kishore Namit Kapoor.

In 2003, John got his first Bollywood break. He made his debut with the steamy thriller Jism opposite Bipasha Basu. The film was moderately successful but John's performance garnered critical praise.

His personal life was also looking up with a full blown romance with his Jism co-star Bipasha who John started dating in 2002. The relationship lasted nine years before they broke up in 2011.

Bipasha was not the first Bengali bombshell in John's life. Before the couple began a relationship, John dated actress Riya Sen and reportedly wanted to get hitched. But Riya turned him down to concentrate on her film career.

Jism and Saaya were followed by a number of flops, including Aetbaar, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Pooja Bhatt's directing debut Paap and Ahmed Khan's Lakeer.

In 2004, John was rescued from box office hell when he played a negative role in Yash Raj Films' Dhoom. The film was a huge commercial success and emerged as one of the highest grossers of that year.

The next year brought him to the SRK-Karan Johar bandwagon with a role in the supernatural thriller Kaal, which did not do well at the box office.

The same year, he also tried his hand at comedy with Akshay Kumar in the box office hit Garam Masala.

In 2005, John's career received a major boost when he was announced as critically acclaimed director Deepa Mehta's unlikely choice for the male lead in the film Water, dealing with the plight of widows in British-era India.

John surprised naysayers with his performance and the movie was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars.

John went on to appear in a string of films including Zinda and Taxi No 9211, which pitted him against Bollywood veteran Nana Patekar.

In Baabul, John worked alongside big-wigs like Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Hema Malini and Rani Mukerji.

His association with director Kabir Khan began in 2006 with the movie Kabul Express. The movie, which also featured Arshad Warsi, received a lot of critical acclaim.

Nikhil Advani's multi starrer Salaam-e-Ishq was John's first release in 2007. It tanked at the box office but made its presence felt abroad. John's chemistry with co-star Vidya Balan was heavy fuel for the Bollywood rumour mill, though both denied a real life romance.

In 2008, John made up a complicated triangle with Abhishek Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra in Karan Johar's Dostana. Moviegoers flocked to theatres to catch a glimpse of John's bare behind and the John-Abhishek jodi quickly scaled the screen couple charts.

Continuing his association with Kabir Khan, John's first release of 2009 was another much awaited production by Yash Raj Films, New York. The movie was a critical and commercial success and John's performance was singled out for praise.

Between 2010 and 2011, John featured in several films like Aashayein, Jhootha Hi Sahi, Force and Desi Boyz, which failed to impress the audience.

However, 7 Khoon Maaf did get mixed reviews from critics.

2012 turned out to be a good year for the actor as he not only had a hit with Housefull 2 but also with his first production venture Vicky Donor, which was critically acclaimed and a commercial success at the box office.

In 2013, the actor-turned-producer played the antagonist in Race 2, the first Rs 100-crore movie of the year. The action film also featured Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and Jacqueline Fernandez.

I, Me Aur Main might have failed to impress the audience but Shootout At Wadala was declared a huge hit at the box office.

John was last seen in Madras Café, which was successful in impressing most of the critics.

In the year 2015, John will be seen in Welcome Back. He is also busy filming Rocky Handsome.

In January this year, John secretly married fiancee, investment banker Priya Runchal, in a private ceremony. He broke the news on Twitter by signing a tweet jointly with his new bride. He wrote: Wishing you and your loved ones a blessed 2014! May this year bring you love, good fortune and joy. Love, John and Priya Abraham. John reportedly began dating Priya in 2010 and rarely spoke about her in public.

John is considered a fashion and fitness icon and one of the hottest actors of Bollywood. In 2008, he was the only Indian to make it to the Top 25 Sexiest Men in the World list.

John also has his own fashion line called JA Clothes, which primarily features jeans.

Besides films, John Abraham takes a keen interest in sports and is the co-owner of the Indian Super League football team North East United FC. He is also committed to a number of social causes and is a brand ambassador for PETA. He has a project of his own called John's Brigade for Habitat for Humanity.

In 2010, he won NDTV's Greenest Celebrity Award.

Here's wishing John a very happy birthday and a great year ahead