Dia Mirza

Date of Birth : 09 Dec 1981

Place of Birth : Hyderabad, India

Biography :

Diya Mirza Handrich or Dia Mirza (born 9 December 1981 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India) is an Indian model and actress and Miss Asia Pacific for the year 2000. She was also second runner up in the Miss India 2000 beauty contest. Titles: Miss Beautiful Smile, The Sony Viewers Choice Award. Her father Frank Handrich was a German interior designer; her mother is Deepa Mirza, a Bengali. They separated when she was six years old. Her father died when she was nine and her mother remarried: Ahmed Mirza whose surname she took, died in 2004. Though she has been brought up in a Muslim household, she believes in Ganesha When living in Khairatabad, Hyderabad, she attended Vidyaranya High School For Boys And Girls, a school based on the teachings of Krishnamurti, and later Nasr School, in Kushnuma. Currently, she lives in Bandra, Mumbai. Dia Mirza began her professional career at the tender age of 16 working as a market executive at Sriven Mult-tech in Hyderabad. She earned a monthly salary of Rs 5000, with a 15% commission on every ad revenue she fetched for her company. She however did an advertising campaign which appeared in Femina. After the pictures came out she was encouraged to participate in Miss India competition. Dia won 3 titles at the Miss India competition - Miss Beautiful Smile, The Sony Viewer's Choice Award and Femina Miss India Asia Pacific. Life changed after that. Dia shifted to Mumbai for better career prospects. She is the second Indian contestant to be crowned Miss Asia Pacific and the first in 29 years. Dia was then signed by Vashu Bahnani for Rehanna Hai Tere Dil Mein opposite southern superstar Madhavan. Her debut movie (RHTDM) did not make a big splash. But it spelt one thing - Dia Mirza had arrived. A series of minor films followed, among them Tumsa Nahin Dekha and Deewaanapan. In 2005, Mirza appeared in Parineeta, a Vidhu Vinod Chopra production. In 2006 she teamed up once again with Chopra and Sanjay Dutt for the successful film Lage Raho Munna Bhai. She also played in the music video Kajara Mohabbat Wala from Sonu Nigam album Kajara Nite. She has also appeared in Dus and in Fight Club. She will appear later this year in Familywala and Naa Naa Karte