Get To Know Preity Zinta

9 months ago / by Team SEEMA
Preity Zinta

Born on 31st January 1975 in Rohru, Shimla, Preity G. Zinta is an Indian actress, entrepreneur, writer, and producer. Apart from the age of Preity Zinta, here are more things to know about her.

About Preity Zinta

Apart from the age of Preity Zinta, many people ask about her physical appearance. She is approximately 5’4″ tall and weighs around 52 kilograms. She has brown hair and light brown eyes, and she is an Aquarius.

Actress Preity Zinta rose to fame because of her role as the refreshing, cool, and wet model in the Liril soap commercial, with her dimple winning many people’s hearts globally.

Early Life and Education

Actress Preity Zinta was born and raised in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India, into a Rajput family. Her parents are Durganand Zinta, a former Indian army officer, and Nilprabha Zinta. She also has two brothers, Deepankar, who is a year older than her, and Manish, who is a year younger.

Her father and mother were involved in an accident when Preity was 13 years old, which took her father’s life. Her mother was seriously injured and remained bedridden for two years. Preity said that her parents’ accident significantly affected her life, forcing her early maturity.

She described herself as a tomboy child and said that her father’s role in the army taught her how to carry on family life.

She attended the Convent of Jesus and Mary boarding school in Shimla, where she said that besides the loneliness, she enjoyed sports like basketball and made good friends. During her time in the school, Zinta developed her love for literature, especially William Shakespeare and poetry.

She later joined The Lawrence School, Sanawar, Solan in Himachal Pradesh for high school, after which she joined St. Bede’s College in Shimla. She graduated from the college with an English honors degree and later enrolled in a psychology graduate program, which earned her a criminal psychology postgraduate degree.

After some time, Preity Zinta took up modeling, which saw her land her first television commercial advertising Perk chocolates. This gave her the chance to meet a director in 1996, after which she appeared in more commercials, one being for the soap Liril.

Career

Preity Zinta met Shekhar Kapur in 1997 after auditioning for the Liril soap commercial, after which Shekhar decided she would do well as an actress. She was to make her first movie appearance in Shekhar’s ‘Tara Rum Pum,’ alongside Hrithik Roshan.

This was, however, delayed as the director was busy with other projects. She got another offer to appear in ‘Kyla Kehna’ by Kundan Shah, whose release was also postponed to 2000. In 1998, however, Shekhar Kapur recommended her to appear in ‘Dil Se,’ which became Preity’s official first movie alongside Shahrukh Khan.

She played Preeti Nair, Khan’s fiancé, and a middle-class Delhi girl, and this role earned her many accolades, including a nomination for the Best Supporting Actress Filmfare Award. While the movie did not get a wide Indian audience, it was the first Hindi movie to reach the top 10 box-office charts in the UK.

Preity Zinta says that she never thought she would join the movie industry. She adds that she has always been motivated to play different roles because her friends teased her that she would wear white saris while dancing in the rain.

In 1998, she also featured in ‘Soldier,’ another box-office hit, meaning that Preity had officially claimed her spot in the movie industry. Her performances in ‘Soldier’ and ‘Dil Se’ later earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.

In 1998 and 1999, Preity continued to appear in other small and big films, with people describing her roles and performances as excellent.

In 2000, she appeared in ‘Kya Kehna,’ which became a huge box-office success, earning Preity Zinta huge recognition from people globally and film critics. The role saw her nominated for the Filmfare Best Actress Award.

In 2003, she played the lead actress in three highest-grossing Indian films 2003: ‘The Hero: Love Story of a Spy,’ ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho,’ and ‘Koi Mil Gaya.’ She played along with stars like Priyanka Chopra, Sunny Deol, and Hrithik Roshan.

Other significant appearances include “veer-Zaara,’ ‘Lakshya,’ Salaam Namaste,’ and ‘Khabi Alvida Naa Kehna.’ ‘Khullam Khulla Pyaar Karen’ and ‘Jaan-E-Mann,’ in 2005 and 2006, respectively, did not receive high profits, and their box-office rating was also poor. This led Preity to go into art films, a neo-realistic film movement known as a parallel cinema in India.

She made her debut English-language film in 2007, ‘The Last Year,’ which received good reviews and ratings. After playing ‘Heaven on Earth’ in 2008, Preity took a 2-year sabbatical from films, saying she chose to focus on the work she was doing with her cricket team.

Besides acting, she has also written three columns for BBC News Online as part of a South Asian commentators group. She has also participated in several world tours and stage shows since 2001.

She has also participated in humanitarian work, being part of several charitable organizations, and supporting Indian women.

Awards

  • 2004 Stardust Best Actress Award
  • 2005 IFA Style Diva Award

Less Known Facts about Preity Zinta

  • She turned down a lead role in Marigold in 2007
  • She was involved in an explosion in Colombo during a Temptation concert in 2004 and a Tsunami in the Indian Ocean in the same year
  • She is Himachal Pradesh’s brand ambassador
  • She co-owns Kings XI Punjab and the IPL team
  • She doesn’t identify with a particular religion and says its personal
  • She participated in the Bharat Shah case as a witness testifying against an Indian Mafia

Preity Zinta Net Worth

Preity’s net worth is approximately $35 million, mostly from her acting career and brand endorsements.

FAQs

Who Is Preity Zinta Married To?

She briefly dated Marc Robinson in 2000 and Ness Wadia from 2005 to 2005. In 2016, she and Gene Goodenough got married in Loss Angeles in a private ceremony, after which she moved to Los Angeles.

How Many Kids Does Preity Zinta Have?

Preity Zinta and Gene have a twin boy and girl, whom they got through surrogacy.

How Many Films Has Zinta Featured In?

Preity has featured in around 36 movies, with some of the best ones being:
Dil Chahta Hai 2001
Kal Ho Naa Ho 2003
Veer-Zaara 2004
Lakshya 2004
Dil Se 1998
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi 2008
Koi Mil Gata 2003
Sangharsh 1999
Raja Kumarudu 1999
Mission Kashmir 2000