The actresses's first brush with fame were the popular Lyril and Perk ads. This bubbly girl from Shimla had actually come down to Mumbai to work in Shekhar Kapur's Tara Rum Pum Pum. The film never took off. Born on January 31, 1974, this Aquarian grew up in a hurry when her father, an army man, died in a car accident when she was barely 13. Her mother, who was with him at the time, suffered serious injuries and was bedridden for two years. A tomboy, Preity graduated in criminal psychology.

Preity Zinta, the zing thing of the Bollywood, was born on 31 Jan and had a great start in films with her debut being with one of the few Indian celebriti directors - ManiRatnam's DIL SE - an audio blockbuster.

Preity is so pretty, outspoken and a beautiful actress-dancer who keeps smiling all the time with a dimple on her right cheek. She's one of the best newcomers with much more than a promising and an enthusiastic career that she takes a lot of care in choosing her roles when she gets an offer.

Preity, a graduate in Psychology, is a bit extra-ambitious of her career in the Bollywood and she works towards her dream. She acted in one movie in Tollywood too.

After DIL SE, she had her first hit movie SOLDIER and there's another film with Saif Ali Khan - KYA KEHNA. One film in still on the stands, HUR DIL JO PYAR KAREGA which is recently released and reported to be doing well at the

PREITY - NUMERO UNO FROM PEPSI GIRL   Pretty Preity Zinta definitely makes a pretty picture but she is more than just a pretty face and is an actress par excellence. Currently the number one actress in Bollywood Priety had two super duper hits last year in the form of â˜Koi Mil Gaya and Kal Ho Naa Ho. She made her debut in a small guest appreance in Mani Ratnam Dil Se and later was seen in a full-fledged role in 'Soldier' with Bobby Deol. These films were not huge hits but marked the arrival of a new actress. She received an award for the Best Newcomer Performance for Dil Seat the Filmfare Awards. Born and brought up in Shimla, Priety got her college degree from Delhi University and moved to Mumbai to pursue modeling. Her first claim to fame was the famous Liril ad followed by the Perk ad  when Abbas- Mastan spotted her and offered Soldier. Priety Zinta's third film Kya Kehna was a hit and she was widely appreciated for her bold role of an unwed mother. Although she has a couple of flops like Sunghrush, that did not affected her rising popularity. Her subsequent films like Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karegaa, Mission Kashmir, Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, Dil Hai Tumhara were average runners that only added to her credibility in the industry. It was Farhan Akhtar Dil Chahta Ha in 2001 with Aamir Khan that made her one of the most sought after actress among the new lot. 2003 was really lucky for her as she had two bumper hits Koi Mil Gaya and Kal Ho Naa Ho along with two flops in ‘Armaanand The Hero . However the hits overruled the flops. Today she is one of the top actresses of Indian cinema and has a huge fan following . Infact this year Preity had won best actress awards at almost all the leading events. Her forthcoming films include Farhan Akhtar's Lakshaya released in june 2004 with Hrithik Roshan and Amitabh Bachchan. So watch for Pepsi girl Priety Zinta at her best in 2004!

FILMOGRAPHY

YEAR FILMS     1998 SOLDIER DIL SE   1999 SANGHARSH DILLAGI   2000 KYA KEHNA HAR DIL JO PYAAR KAREGA MISSION KASHMIR 2000 PRINCE NO. 1     2001 FARZ   DIL CHAHTA HAI   CHORI CHORI CHUPKE CHUPKE 2002 DIL HAI TUMHARA     2003 KOI MIL GAYA ARMAAN THE HERO 2003 KAL HO NAA HO     2004 LAKSHYA

From : http://pepsizone.yahoo.co.in/movies/