Celina Jaitley

CAPTION: Celina Jaitly

Beauty pageant titleholderCelina Jaitley at Swarovski Gems event (4) (cropped).jpgJaitly in 2007Born (1981-11-24) 24 November 1981 (age 32)Kabul,AfghanistanAlma mater St. Joesph CollegeOccupation Actress, Model, Entrepreneur, WriterYears active 2001-presentHeight 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)Title(s) Femina Miss India Universe 2001Majorcompetition(s) Femina Miss India 2001(Winner)Miss Universe 2001(4th Runner-up)Spouse Peter Haag (m. 2011)Children WinstonViraaj

Celina Jaitly (born 24 November 1981) isa Indian actress who mainly appears in Bollywood films. Aformer beauty queen and model, she was crowned Femina Miss IndiaUniverse in 2001.

Jaitley's breakthrough film role was in the 2003 thrillerJanasheen. She rose to fame in the late 2000s following roles inthe films Silsiilay (2005), No Entry (2005), Tom, Dick,and Harry (2006) and Golmaal Returns (2008).

Early life

Jaitley was born on 24 November 1981, to a Punjabi Indianfather and Afghan mother. Her father, V.K. Jaitley, is aretired Indian Army colonel and her mother, Meeta, was a nurse inthe Indian army, as well as an Afghan beauty queen.

She has one brother, who is serving in the Indian army.

Due to her army background, Jaitly grew up in several cities in India,like Lucknow, where she attended City Montessori School. Howevermost of her life was spent in the Kashmir valley and the northeastern states of India. She finished her school from Guwahati.She also spent some years of her childhood in Cuddalore, TamilNadu and graduated from St Joseph's College, Manjakuppam. She has,however, spent most of her time in Kolkata, India.

During her teenage years, Jaitly aspired to be a part of the Indianarmy, either as a doctor or a pilot. However, she started modelingalongside studies at the age of 16 Celina and took part in the 2001 MsIndia pageant. She won the crown and then went on to become a runnerup at Ms Universe the same year.

Career

2001-04: Debut and setback

Jaitly came in first place at Femina Miss India 2001 winning the titleof Femina Miss India Universe 2001. In addition to her title, she wonthe Miss Margo Beautiful Skin, Indiatimes Surfer's Choice, andMTV's Most Wanted award. She was subsequently sent to the MissUniverse 2001 contest representing India where she was finished 4thrunner up.

In 2001, she featured in Jazzy B's music video of Oh Kehri, whichwas immensely popular. She also featured in music videos forBombay Vikings.

In 2003, she made her film debut in Feroz Khan's Janasheen.Themovie was a moderate box-office success in India. For hersecond release she had a starring role opposite Sunny Deol, in theromantic action Khel, but the feature was poorly received and earnedlittle at the box office.

In 2004, Jaitly turned down the lead role in Julie in an interviewwith Stardust Jaitly commented "I turned down Julie because I didn'tagree with the reasoning of the protagonist in the story, who resortsto prostitution because her man ditches her. I didn't see why anyeducated girl would take such a drastic step. I take up roles that Imentally agree with, and this was not such a role".

2005-08: Professional expansion

By 2005, Jaitly was keen on broadening her range as an actress andthus decided to portray more challenging roles. Under the direction ofKhalid Mohamed, Jaitly plays the role of Preeti a air hostess inSilsiilay. The movie was well received by critics.Rediff.com reported that "Celina Jaitley sizzles in the songBelibaas". She next portrayed the character of Sanjana in NoEntry, the film was received favourably by critics and becamesuccessful at the box office with gross earnings of INR 840.9million (US$14 million).

The following year, Jaitley co-starred in Deepak Tijori's comedyTom, Dick, and Harry, the film became successful at the box officewith gross earnings of INR 250.7 million(US$4.2 million). She next appeared in Apna Sapna MoneyMoney directed by Sangeeth, the film received mixed reviews, thoughbecame a financial success, with a domestic total of INR 390.4million (US$6.5 million).

In 2007 Jaitly flew to New Zealand and shot her first internationalmovie Love Has No Language, a romantic comedy. While there, shewas targeted by a stalker who had followed her from India. Jaitly wassaid to be traumatized by the experience. For her next feature, Jaitlywas cast as the protagonist of Vikram Bhatt 's Red: The Dark Side.Upon release, Red: The Dark Side received negative reviews with CelinaJaitley's performance receiving positive to mixed reviews. Indicinegave it 1 out of 5 stars and said, "Much improved from her previousperformances. Celina Jaitley looks alluring and impresses for thefirst time". Jaitly's final release of 2007 was Suneel Darshan'scomedy Shakalaka Boom Boom, with Bobby Deol, Upen Pateland Kangna Ranaut. Upon release it did moderately well at the boxoffice but was critically panned.

In 2008, she took a supporting role in Golmaal Returns, the filmreceived mixed reviews though became a financial success, with adomestic total of INR 660.9 million (US$11 million).Jaitley's performance was applauded with critic Taran Adarsh writing"Celina stays on your mind even after the show is over".

Recent work (2009-present)

During 2009 and 2010, Jaitley continued to work in a number ofprojects but experienced a setback. All three films in which shestarred, Paying Guests, Accident on Hill Road and HelloDarling were critically and commercially unsuccessful.

In 2011, Jaitley had two leading roles. Her first film was AneesBazmee's Thank You, a romantic comedy. The film was poorlyreceived by critics but became an economic success, earning overINR 950.6 million (US$16 million) She nextappeared in Shrimathi a Kannada film directed by Ravi kumar.The film proved a commercial success.

There were reports that Jaitly was slated to play the character of aPersian princess in the film Quest of Scheherzade along withactors Sean Connery and Orlando Bloom, and directed by KenKhan. However, this has yet to be confirmed.

Personal life

Celina at LA1-crop

In January 2011, she announced her engagement with Austrianbusinessman, hotelier and marketeer, Peter Haag.She married Peter Haag on 23 July 2011 at a thousand year oldmonastery in Austria. Now she is living in Mumbai, Dubai andSingapore. On 24 March 2012 she gave birth to twin boysWinston and Viraaj.

Other work

Philanthropy

Celina Jaitly in campaign organised by PETA

Jaitly is a supporter of the rights and equality of the LGBTcommunity and supports the gay rights movement in India. She hasbeen involved in various activities concerning human rights, women andchildren health, and sex workers rehabilitation in India for the past10 years.

Jaitly was a vociferous proponent of abolition of Section 377 ofIndian Penal Code (IPC), which criminalized homosexuality. The actressonce stated that her first boyfriend was a closet homosexual who diedof bulimia-induced problems. She has appeared several times onnational TV channels, debating people who oppose abolition of Section377. She even expressed shock and disbelief over Supreme Court'sVerdict on Section 377.

She took part in the Mumbai gay pride march to support sexualminorities. On 16 April 2009, India's first gay magazineBombay Dost, was re-launched by Celina Jaitley in Mumbai.

The actress recently pledged her eyes to Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital, oneof the leading eye care hospitals in Mumbai. The hospital had launchedthe "Care for the eye" program as a social initiative aimed atsupporting the cause of eye donation, as part of its 19th anniversary.

She has also done a photoshoot to show her support for PETA.

Jaitley recently made her singing debut in a music video on gayrights. The video titled 'The Welcome' has come up as one of the mostwatched online videos of the United Nations. The video was launched byUN in April 2014 as a campaign against homophobia and has claimedover one million views so far.

Endorsements

Jaitly is the brand ambassador of Egyptian tourism and DiyaDiamond Jewellery from Gitanjali Group.

Galleries of Celina Jaitley