Preity Zinta still bubbly at 38

Bollywood's dimpled beauty Preity Zinta turns 38 today. Here's a look at her life and times.

Preity Zinta was born in Shimla on January 31, 1974 to Army officer Durganand Zinta and Nilprabha. Her father died in a car accident when she was 13 and her mother suffered severe injuries and was bed-ridden for two years.

The actress studied at the Convent of Jesus and Mary boarding school in Shimla and did her post-graduation in Criminal Psychology at St Bede's College in Shimla.

Preity began her life in showbiz with advertisements for Liril and Perk. She auditioned for Shekhar Kapur's film Tara Rum Pum Pum and was reportedly cast as the female lead. But the film never took off.

In 1998, Preity made her Bollywood debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Mani Ratnam's film Dil Se. Despite starring opposite big stars like SRK and Manisha Koirala, Preity's performance grabbed eyeballs and bagged the Filmfare Award for Best Newcomer.

The same year, Preity starred opposite Bobby Deol in Soldier and was applauded for her performance.

In 1999, Preity earned critical acclaim for her character in Tanuja Chandra's Sangharsh. The film was an Indian version of Silence Of The Lambs and Preity played Jodie Foster's role.

Acclaim also came her way for her role as a teenage single mother in Kya Kehna.

The bubbly actress subsequently played a variety of character types and worked with the top actors of Bollywood, and in doing so has been credited with changing the image of a Hindi film heroine.

Koi... Mil Gaya opposite Hrithik Roshan in 2003 was her biggest commercial success.

The actress received her first Filmfare Best Actress Award for her performance in Karan Johar's Kal Ho Naa Ho.

In 2004, she was critically appreciated for her role in Veer Zaara.

Preity, who has been on a sabbatical from Bollywood for a while, was also noted for her portrayal of independent, modern Indian women in Salaam Namaste (2005) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), both top-grossing productions in overseas markets.

She bagged her first international film role in the Canadian film Heaven on Earth, for which she was awarded the Best Actress (Silver Hugo) award at the 2008 Chicago International Film Festival.

In addition to movie acting, Preity has written a series of columns for BBC News Online South Asia and is a regular stage performer. In 2008, she went with the Bachchans on their Unforgettable Tour, where she shared the stage with Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit to name a few. In December last year, she joined Shah Rukh Khan at the Temptation Reloaded concert in Jakarta.

In 2011, Preity forayed into television as the host of the show Guinness World Records – Ab India Todega. Later that year, she hosted the celebrity talk show Up, Close & Personal with PZ.

The same year, Preity launched her own production company, PZNZ Media. She was supposed to make her comeback in her debut production venture Ishkq in Paris in October 2012. But the movie was indefinitely shelved after director Prem Raj was diagnosed with cancer. In December last year, the actress announced on Twitter that the film will release later this year.

Preity is single and her most recent and best-known relationship was with Bombay Dyeing heir Ness Wadia with who she co-owns the IPL team Kings XI Punjab. Preity and Ness broke up in 2009 after dating for four years. She dated model Marc Robinson between 2000 and 2002. The actress has been romantically linked to Bollywood stars and cricketers, but the actress has always denied the rumours.

The feisty actress is known for publicly speaking her mind and openly expressing her opinions, occasionally sparking controversy. She is also heavily involved in humanitarian work. We wish her a very happy birthday.