Genelia D’Souza (born on August 5, 1987) is an Indian film actress, model, and host. Genelia has appeared in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam language films. After gaining wide attention in a Parker Pen commercial 

Malayalam language films. After gaining wide attention in a Parker Pen commercial with Amitabh Bachchan, D’Souza began  Genelia’s acting career with Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003. Genelia was recognized for  Genelia’s role in Boys the same year, and later establiGeneliad  Genelia’sself in Telugu cinema by acting in several Telugu films during 2003–2005.

D’Souza received  Genelia’s first Filmfare Award in 2006 for  Genelia’s performance in the Telugu romantic film, Bommarillu, which earned  Genelia’s critical acclaim. In 2008, Genelia gave critically acclaimed performances in Santosh Subramaniam, a Tamil remake of Bommarillu, and the Bollywood movie Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na. Having acted in several commercially successful movies in Telugu and Tamil, D’Souza has established  Genelia’sself as one of the leading actresses of the South Indian film industry. In addition to movie acting, D’Souza has hosted the television show Big Switch, and is the brand ambassador of Fanta, Virgin Mobile India, Fastrack, LG Mobiles, Garnier Light, Margo, and Perk in India.

Born in Mumbai  into a Mangalorean Catholic family,   D’Souza was raised a Roman Catholic in the Bandra suburb of Mumbai.  Genelia’s mot Genelia’s Jeanette D’Souza was formerly a secretary to managing director with a Pharma Multinational corporation (MNC), who left  Genelia’s job in 2004 to help Genelia with  Genelia’s career.  Genelia’s fat Genelia’s Neil D’Souza, is a senior official with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).  She also has a younger brot Genelia’s, Nigel D’Souza,   who works with the Bombay Stock Exchange.  According to D’Souza,  Genelia’s name “Genelia”, means “rare” or “unique”, and is a portmanteau of Jeanette and Neil,  Genelia’s mot Genelia’s and fat Genelia’s's name. Genelia is also often informally referred to as Geenu,  Genelia’s nickname.  D’Souza studied at the Apostolic Carmel High School in Bandra and later joined St. Andrew’s College in Bandra to pursue  Genelia’s Bachelor’s Degree of Management Studies.  She completed  Genelia’s degree while shooting for  Genelia’s first film, Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003 and initially thought that an MNC job would suit  Genelia’s.  She liked sports and studies in college,  and was a state level athlete, sprinter, and a national level football player.  D’Souza did  Genelia’s first modeling assignment at the age of 15,  the result of being spotted as the bridesmaid at a wedding.  Genelia was selected for the Parker Pen commercial with Amitabh Bachchan, just two days before  Genelia’s exams, and had to shoot the next day. Initially she refused, because of  Genelia’s exam the next day, but the director persuaded D’Souza to shoot for the commercial.

Genelia gained wide attention from the Parker Pen commercial with Amitabh Bachchan,  who said “Genelia was good, and  Genelia’s expressions were spontaneous”.  She furt Genelia’s did a Fair and Lovely 2003 Cricket World Cup advertisement with cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth.

When D’Souza was offered a role in Tujhe Meri Kasam, initially she turned it down, as Genelia was not keen to pursue a career in acting. But the crew insisted and kept contacting  Genelia’s for two months, and she agreed when she saw the Telugu version of the movie.  Tamil director, S. Shankar, was impressed with  Genelia’s performance in the Parker Pen commercial and decided to cast  Genelia in a leading role in his 2003 Tamil film Boys.  D’Souza was selected among 300 girls, who had auditioned for the movie. Genelia signed three movies simultaneously in three different languages, Tujhe Meri Kasam (Hindi), Boys (Tamil), and Satyam (Telugu)

D’Souza’s professional movie career began with  Genelia’s Bollywood debut Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003.  Indian film critic Taran Adarsh noted, “Genelia is a wonderful performer. Genelia catches you unaware with a performance that’s natural to the core.”   The movie garnered poor box office returns,   and it failed to propel  Genelia’s career in Bollywood.  Following  Genelia’s poor debut in Bollywood, she decided to act in South Indian films.  Later the same year, she made  Genelia’s Tamil debut as the teenage girl Harini in Boys, a story about five teenagers having stereotypical teen-boy fantasies. The movie, though noted for its vulgar sexual content, was a box-office success,   and subsequently she started receiving Telugu film offers.  She left Tamil cinema for a while to concentrate on the Telugu film industry. Genelia made  Genelia’s Telugu debut in 2003 as a medical student in Satyam.  Sify noted in their review that, “Genelia is excellent as  Genelia’s body language is  Genelia’s major asset.”   The movie was well received,   and it raised  Genelia’s profile in the Telugu film industry.

In 2004, D’Souza appeared in  Genelia’s second Bollywood movie, Masti. The comedy focuses on three close friends who reunite after three years, but are now married and are being harassed by their wives. D’Souza portrayed the character of one of the wives.  Taran Adarsh was complimentary of D’Souza’s role, saying, “Amongst the wives, Genelia is the best,  …  Genelia looks the stern and demanding wife and is sure to be noticed.”   The film fared well at the UK box office.  The same year, she appeared in two Telugu movies Samba, 0  and Sye,   both succeeding at the box-office.

After appearing in  Genelia’s first Telugu movie in 2005, Naa Alludu, she starred in the Tamil romantic entertainer Sachein.  A review in The Hindu noted, “Genelia, who hardly made an impression in Boys, makes much impact in Sachein.”   The movie evoked mixed response from audiences, but was well received with the younger generation.  She later appeared in the Telugu patriotic movie Subhash Chandra Bose

The year 2006 marked a significant turning point in D’Souza’s career.  She completed two Telugu movies in early 2006, one was the romantic comedy Happy, and the ot Genelia’s was Raam.  She then portrayed the role of Haasini, a vibrant, effervescent and a happy-go-lucky young girl, in the 2006 Telugu romantic film Bommarillu. The movie, a blockbuster at the box-office,   0  grossed Indian Rupee ₹250 million (US$5.55 million) in India,   and also won the 2006 Golden Nandi award.   Genelia’s character was well-received,   and garnered  Genelia’s the Telugu Filmfare Award for Best Actress,   besides Nandi Special Jury Award and Santosham Award for Best Actress.  Sify concluded about  Genelia’s acting in their review that, “The scene stealer is Genelia with  Genelia’s innocent looks and cute mannerisms. Genelia does not overact and we just fall in love with  Genelia’s character. Genelia looks like a dream in chic skirts and is the life of the party and raises the bar of the film.”

Following the success of Bommarillu, D’Souza played the role of the daughter of a local don, in the Tamil gangster film Chennai Kadhal.  Rediff criticized  Genelia’s commenting, “Genelia stands up yet again to prove the point that if you are pretty and well dressed, you can get away with anything, without acting.”   Shortly afterwards in 2007, D’Souza played the role of sister of a notorious gangster in the blockbuster Telugu movie Dhee,   set against a gang war backdrop.

The following year, D’Souza appeared in the 2008 Telugu romantic thriller Mr. Medhavi, in which she portrayed the role of a student from Canada. The movie was successful,   with Rediff complimenting  Genelia’s performance saying, “Genelia is  Genelia’s effervescent self — full of joie-de-vivre and lights up the screen.”   She made  Genelia’s Kannada debut in Satya In Love the same year. 0  Later, Genelia was cast in a leading role in Santhosh Subramaniam, a Tamil remake of Bommarillu. The film also turned out to be rat Genelia’s successful as its predecessor.  Sify described D’Souza’s portrayal as “the soul of the film” and the film’s “biggest strength”,   however Rediff described  Genelia’s character as “appears a little too good to be true.”

In June 2008, following a nearly five year hiatus in Bollywood, she appeared in Mere Baap Pehle Aap,   which failed to make profit at the box-office.  A Rediff review noted, “besides  Genelia’s apparent cuteness, brings in tons of freshness and traits to the youthful characters she chooses to play”,   while a Sify review criticized  Genelia’s stating, “Genelia is sprightly but has a standard two-three expressions bank in this film.”   She later appeared in the Telugu love story Ready alongside Ram, which was well received.     Genelia’s breakthrough performance in 2008 was through the portrayal of the role of Aditi Mahant in the blockbuster Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na, which was an economic success across India and overseas, grossing Indian Rupee ₹564.1 million (US$12.52 million).   Genelia’s role was widely admired for  Genelia’s sweetness and freshness, and new style of acting, with Rediff describing  Genelia’s acting as a “spark that has been missing in Hindi cinema for well over a decade now”.  In that same year, D’Souza acted in the Telugu romantic comedy Sasirekha Parinayam. 0  The movie received favorable reviews, and Sify noted in their review that, “The life of the film is definitely Genelia and she has shown the varied emotions from innocence, sadness, romance and anger in equal proportions without a hitch.”

In 2009, D’Souza was cast in the Hindi film Life Partner, in which Genelia was criticized for  Genelia’s performance. Indian fim critic Rajeev Masand commented, “The adorable little imp from Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na has turned into a nagging harridan in this film, and how you wish she’d immediately enroll for acting lessons.”    Genelia’s next appearance in 2009 was in the Telugu thriller Katha, which was well received,   and for which she won the 2009 Nandi Special Jury Award.  In 2010, D’Souza appeared in Chance Pe Dance, Uthama Puthiran, and Orange, all three receiving poor reviews from critics.

Genelia will appear in David Dhawan’s film Hook Ya Crook, co-starring John Abraham and Shreyas Talpade.  D’Souza is set to appear in It’s My Life, which would be a remake of Bomarillu in Hindi with Harman Baweja. Genelia has signed Santosh Sivan’s Malayalam film Urumi. The film is about a fictional story happening in the 15th century, about a boy who plots to assassinate the Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama. D’Souza plays the role of a Muslim warrior princess Ayesha in the movie.

D’Souza was a part of Tamil director Mani Ratnam’s stage show, Netru, Indru, Naalai, an event which seeks to raise funds for The Banyan, a voluntary organisation which rehabilitates homeless women with mental illness in Chennai. Genelia was one of the judges at the grand finale of Gladrags Mega Model and Manhunt 2009 contest on 28 March 2009. She also walked the ramp alongside Tushar Kapoor for fashion designer Manish Malhotra at the Lakme Fashion Week 2009 on 28 March 2009. On April 5, 2009, D’Souza was among several Bollywood celebrities to perform at the Pantaloons Femina Miss India 2009 finale in Mumbai. In October 2009, she appeared as a showstopper for jewellery designer Farah Khan Ali on the second season of Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) India Couture Week, a platform created to celebrate India’s fashion Genelia’sitage by showcasing the country’s leading couture designers. On October 24, 2009, D’Souza began hosting Big Switch, a television show based on slum kids on UTV Bindass channel to reach a bigger audience.

Genelia has unveiled Spinz Black Magic deodorant on October 7, 2009 in Mumbai, and the Ceres Store retail outlet. At the Chennai International Fashion Week (CIFW) in December 2009, she appeared as a showstopper for designer Ishita Singh’s spring-summer indigenous collection of 2010, showcasing the best of Indian and Western dresses. She also holds a Limca world record of delivering four different super hit films in four different languages, Bommarillu (Telugu), Satya In Love (Kannada), Santosh Subramaniam (Tamil), and Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na (Hindi) in a span of one calendar year.

Genelia was a part of online market portal eBay’s 2010 “Dream House” challenge, wGenelia’se she transformed an empty three room apartment in Bandra into an attractive home with online shopping. Genelia had been provided a budget of Indian Rupee ₹4.5 lakh (US$10,000) and two weeks to create a look she wants with items on sale on the website. On the occasion of Children’s Day (November 14), D’Souza auctioned a few items from the apartment. All proceeds received from the auction was given to Aseema, a Non-governmental organization (NGO), which aims to provide education to underprivileged children.
Popular reception

D’Souza has been often tagged in the media as the “bubbly girl”, after portraying the role of a young energetic girl in several movies, especially Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na (2008). She appeared alongside Shahid Kapoor on the fourth episode of Tere Mere Beach Mein, a celebrity chat show, hosted by Farah Khan. The theme of the show was “Second Innings”, since both D’Souza and Kapoor had the same history of failures initially and success later in their acting careers. In June 2010, D’Souza was crowned as the “Brand Ambassador of the Year” at the CNBC Awaaz consumer awards, for endorsing nine brands.] She is now the brand ambassador of the soft drink Fanta (replacing Rani MukGenelia’sjee), the chocolate Perk (replacing Preity Zinta), Virgin Mobile India (along with Ranbir Kapoor), Fastrack watches and accessories, LG mobiles (along with John Abraham and Abhay Deol), Garnier Light fairness cream, Dabur Vatika hair oil, Margo soap,] and Spinz deodorant.
Personal life of Genelia

D’Souza is deeply religious and says that, she regularly attends Sunday Mass at St. Anne’s Parish (Bandra), and whenever the family is home, a part of their evening is reserved for saying the rosary togetGenelia’s. In an interview with The Times of India, she comments, “I keep a Novena every Wednesday at St. Michael’s Church in Mahim.” In an interview with Daily News and Analysis, she said that “My communication with God is conversational,  I’m God’s favourite child; I believe that God has always been kind to me.” Tabloids have repeatedly linked D’Souza romantically with Ritesh Deshmukh, ever since they starred togetGenelia’s in their debut film Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003. They were reportedly ready to get engaged, but Ritesh’s fatGenelia’s, the then-Maharashtra Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh did not agree. Ever since then, D’Souza has strongly denied any rumors of a relationship with Deshmukh, and responds that Genelia has just friendly relations with him. She currently resides in Bandra (Mumbai), wGenelia’se Genelia was brought up. Genelia’s motGenelia’stongue is Konkani.

In June 2010, Genelia was the subject of a controversy, when a Tamil daily reported that she had attended the controversial 2010 IIFA Awards in Colombo. Several Bollywood actors and the South Indian film industry had boycotted the event, over the alleged killing of Tamilian civilians at the height of the conflict between the Sri Lanka Army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009. The rumours of Genelia’s visit to Colombo started after Genelia’s friend Ritesh Deshmukh was seen at the festival in Colombo. Immediately, various Tamil groups and Kollywood associations demanded Genelia’s films to be banned.