Birthday Special: Decoding Preity Zinta's journey from modelling and acting to being a successful entrepreneur!

By Ankita Bhalla

Updated on Feb 01, 2017 | 12:45 AM IST | 8.3M

What started as a not-so-ambitious dabbling with the glamour world to turning into one of the most successful actresses and an entrepreneur, Preity Zinta is a multi-faceted woman!

The dimpled girl, better known as Liril girl to many, PZ is ringing her 42nd birthday today. This birthday is indeed a special one, considering it's her first one as Mrs. Goodenough.

Preity tied the knot with the US-based Gene Goodenough in 2016 in a close-knit ceremony.

On PZ's birthday, we trace down her journey from the world of catalogues and commercials to being a successful actress and businesswoman!

1. Preity stumbled upon her first ad in 1996. Director Shekhar Kapur recommended her the acting profession and she forayed into Bollywood with Mani Ratnam's Dil Se... in 1997.

2. Playing the role of an unwed mother in the bold Kya Kehna (2000), Preity with her cherubic persona, later went on to act in films like Mission Kashmir, Dil Chahata Hai, Koil Mil Gaya etc and secured a place for herself in Bollywood.

3. It was Karan Johar's Kal Ho Na Ho (2003) which won her first Filmfare Best Actress Trophy.

4. She went on to experiment with her roles like Lakshaya (modelled on journalist Barkha Dutt), late Yash Chopra's Veer Zaara, Salaam Namaste and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna.

5. In 2008, PZ acquired the ownership of a cricket team in Indian Premium League - Kings XI Punjab, becoming the only woman back then to own an IPL team! Since then, her association with the sports and the team is going strong.

6. Preity has been known to call spade a spade and never feared from voicing her opinions. She grabbed headlines when in 2003 she testified against late producer Bharat Shah in connection with mafia and underworld. Even after her much-publicised breakup with Ness Wadia, PZ didn't shy away from filing a complaint about her ex under the charges of abuse and molestation at an IPL match at the Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai).

7. In 2011, PZ also dabbled her hand as a host, when she helmed her celebrity talk show - Up, Close & Personal with PZ. The actress also kickstarted her production house, PZNZ Media and starred in the 2013 romantic comedy Ishkq in Paris, produced under her banner.