Genelia D'Souza (born on August 5, 1987) is an Indian film actress, model, and host. She has appeared in Telugu and Hindi language films, as well as Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada language films. D'Souza first hit the limelight in a Parker Pen commercial with Amitabh Bachchan.
She made her acting debut in the Hindi movie Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003, which failed to propel her career in Bollywood, but soon achieved recognition in the Tamil film Boys the same year. She subsequently acted in many Telugu movies during the period from 2003 to 2005, which earned her recognition in the Telugu film industry.
D'Souza received her first Telugu Filmfare Award for Best Actress in 2006 for her performance in the romantic film, Bommarillu, which earned her critical acclaim. She made her Kannada debut in 2007 in Satya In Love.
She made a comeback to Bollywood in 2008, and was appreciated for her performance in Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na. 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. Her mother Jeanette D'Souza was formerly a secretary to managing director with a Pharma MNC, who left her job in 2004 to help Genelia with her career. Her father Neil D'Souza, is a senior official with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). She also has a younger brother, Nigel D'Souza. According to D'Souza, her name "Genelia", means "rare" or "unique", and is a portmanteau of Jeanette and Neil, her mother and father's name.
