Background

Ileana D'Cruz was born on November 1, 1986, in Mahim, Mumbai, India. She is one of four children of Ronaldo D'Cruz and Samira D'Cruz. Her family relocated to Parra, Goa when she was 10 years old. D'Cruz's mother tongue is Konkani.

Education

D'Cruz attended St. Xavier's High School & Junior College in Mapusa, Goa, and then went to the University of Mumbai.

Career

The manager of the hotel her mother was working in, suggested that D'Cruz had a vibrant smile and should start modelling and fixed a meeting with Marc Robinson. Though initially reluctant, she was persuaded and her first portfolio was created in January 2003, which she described as a "disaster". She began gaining notice through photo shoots and ramp shows and her second portfolio was set up the following year, which landed her three advertisements from Electrolux, Emami Talc and Fair & Lovely. The latter, in particular, which was directed by Rakesh Roshan, gave her exposure and brought in several offers for acting in feature films.

In 2005, D'Cruz was called for an audition by director Teja, but the project was canceled. She instead made her feature film debut in the Telugu language romance film Devadasu (2006), directed by Y. V. S. Chowdhary. She underwent acting classes with Aruna Bhikshu, before starting to work on the film. She recalls that during filming she felt "pressured and almost cried and didn't want to go further," but went ahead after her mother encouraged her, giving her "the lecture of a lifetime at 3 am." Devadasu became the year's first major commercial success. She next appeared in the gangster film Pokiri in which she portrayed an aerobics teacher, who is harassed by a corrupt police officer. The film was a high financial success, emerging as the highest-grossing Telugu film at the time.

She made her Tamil-language film debut in Kedi (2006). Although the film did not do so well at the box-office, D'Cruz remained too busy to accept all the film roles offered to her. Her Telugu film Khatarnak (2006) in which she acted opposite Ravi Teja did not do as well as expected, which has been attributed to her glamorous appearance not going down well with the audience. She subsequently experienced a breakthrough in her career as her following releases Rakhi (2006) and Munna (2007) proved critically and financially successful.

D'Cruz's career took a turn for the better with the release of her well-received 2007 film Aata. She received favorable reviews for her performance as Satya, a college student who is on the run from the home minister's crooked son by whom she is targeted, when leading a protest and demanding punishment for his crimes. In 2008, she performed the female lead role in the action film Jalsa, directed by Trivikram Srinivas. D'Cruz received largely positive remarks, with critics citing that she looked "pretty," "damn cool," and "every bit chic and stunning throughout the film." Her first 2009 release, titled Kick, was likewise declared a box office success, becoming one of the highest-grossing films that year. Later that year she starred in the films Rechipo and Y. V. S. Choudary's Saleem both of which performed poorly at the box office.

D'Cruz had 2 releases in 2011. Her first film that year was Shakti, where she essayed the lead female role. She gave a stage performance for this movie's audio release function along with Jr. NTR, as part as promotion of the film. Her next release was Nenu Naa Rakshasi, which marked her second collaboration with Puri Jagannadh. Though the film was a failure, her performance was received positively by critics. Despite her failures, D'Cruz continued to be the highest-paid actress in South India.

In early 2012, she starred in the Kollywood film Nanban, a remake of the 2009 Hindi film 3 Idiots directed by S. Shankar. The film opened to critical acclaim and became a major financial success. Her next release was the Telugu film Julai. The film opened to positive reviews and became the third biggest hit in 2012 and the biggest hit in Telugu. She then starred in Puri Jagannadh's comedy Devudu Chesina Manushulu. In this film, she played the role of a taxi driver. The film received mixed reviews and eventually underperformed at the box office.

D'Cruz made her Hindi debut with Anurag Basu's Barfi. In addition to playing the role of the narrator, she portrayed the character of Shruti Ghosh, a girl who leaves her true love for material comforts. The movie released on September 14, 2012, to highly positive reviews from critics, and was a major commercial success, earning $25 million worldwide. The film was screened at the Busan International Film Festival, Marrakech International Film Festival and was chosen as India's official entry to the Oscars for the 85th Academy Awards.

She next appeared in the Rajkumar Santoshi action comedy film Phata Poster Nikhla Hero opposite Shahid Kapoor. The film released on September 20, 2013, to mixed reviews, and the film was eventually declared a poor grosser at the box office. However, D'Cruz received mixed reviews for her performance.

In April 2014 she gave a photoshoot for India's well-known magazine Man’s World. Her first release of 2014 was Main Tera Hero alongside Varun Dhawan and Nargis Fakhri, produced by Balaji Motion Pictures. The film was a semi-hit. She then appeared in Saif Ali Khan's maiden production Happy Ending where she played lead along Saif Ali Khan, Govinda and Kalki Koechlin which released on November 21, 2014. The film met with negative reviews and was commercially unsuccessful.

After taking a sabbatical, in February 2016 she started Akshay Kumar's Rustom which released in August 2016. The film emerged as one of the highest Indian grossing films of 2016. In 2017, her films Mubarakan starring opposite Arjun Kapoor and Anil Kapoor and Baadshaho starring opposite Ajay Devgn both failed to find an audience in the box office. D'Cruz's first release of 2018, Raid, opened to positive critical and commercial feedback. She also appeared in a Telugu film Amar Akbar Anthony, starring opposite her frequent co-star Ravi Teja. She will appear in Pagalpanti, which is to be released on November 22, 2019, and in The Big Bull, which is to be released in 2020.

Achievements

• 

  Ileana D'Cruz is known today as one of the highest-paid Indian actresses and is praised for her performance by critics and the audience. She received twelve awards, including the Filmfare Award South, the Vogue Beauty Award, the Screen Award, Times of India Film Awards, and others. She has been featured in numerous magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Women's Health, FHM Magazine, L'Officiel, Verve, and Wedding Affair.

Works

More photos

• movie

  • Pokiri

    (The plot revolves around a local goon whose killer instin...)

    2006
  • Raid

    (The film focuses on an lRS officer Amay Patnaik, who has ...)

    2018
  • Main Tera Hero

    (A romantic comedy of errors where it's love at first sigh...)

    2014
  • Happy Ending

    (A confused writer goes on the search for inspiration for ...)

    2014
  • Amar Akbar Anthony

    (The film revolves around the hilarious turn of events in ...)

    2018
  • Bhale Dongalu

    (The story begins when Ramu, having ditched yet another jo...)

    2008
  • Rakhi

    (This is a revenge story of an angry brother against the s...)

    2006
  • Rustom

    (A decorated naval officer is accused of murdering his wif...)

    2016
  • Jalsa

    (Sanjay Sahu is a post-graduate from Osmania University an...)

    2008
  • Barfi

    (A charming prankster's bittersweet relationship with two ...)

    2012
  • Julayi

    (A thug named Bittu and a local MLA Varadarajulu plan to r...)

    2012
  • Phata Poster Nikhla Hero

    (The film follows the story of Vishwas Rao, an aspiring ac...)

    2013
  • Munna

    (Munna, a collegian, aims to put an end to the rule of maf...)

    2007
  • Shakti

    (Aishwarya, the daughter of a politician, meets a guide, S...)

    2011
  • Mubarakan

    (The story starts with a couple traveling with their twin ...)

    2017
  • Baadshaho

    (Maharani Gitanjali is a princess to a royal family in Raj...)

    2017
  • Kick

    (Kalyan is an adrenaline junkie in a quest for kicks. Afte...)

    2009

Religion

D'Cruz was born and raised in a Goan Catholic family.

Views

D’Cruz suffered from dysmorphic disorder and had suicidal thoughts. She said, "I was always a very self-conscious person and was picked on for my body type. I used to feel bad and sad all the time but didn’t know I was suffering from depression and body dysmorphic disorder till I got help. All I wanted to do was to be accepted by everyone. At one point, I even had suicidal thoughts and wanted to end things. However, all of it changed when I accepted myself and what I was going through. I think that is the first step towards fighting depression." D'Cruz urged other women to save them from mental disorder or depression as it is okay for them to accept their bodies.

Her bold comments on sex created a lot of controversies when she said that "Sex is a major relaxation to my body. It keeps me young and I don't mind to talk about that in public."

Quotations: "A lot of people say I am very mysterious. It takes a lot to know me."

"I don't want my personal life to become a part of the public domain. It is something that is sacred and means a lot to me. I don't want it to become some frivolous gossip column."

"Imperfections are a part of life, and one should learn to love who you are."

"I enjoyed every experience that life offers."

"Anxiety has been a big problem for me, but I think my biggest struggle has been depression."

"You are a human being and are allowed to be imperfect, and you are allowed to be flawed. There is a lot of beauty in your imperfections, in your uniqueness."

"My mum is a rock star, and I idolize her. She was born in a conservative Muslim family, where the girls were not educated much, and she was required to wear a burkha. She felt repressed but dreamt of driving her own car, walking around in jeans and wearing sunglasses, and she did."

"Love yourself for who you are, and trust me, if you are happy from within, you are the most beautiful person, and your smile is your best asset."

Personality

D'Cruz's favorite actors are Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan, Kajol, Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone, and Salma Hayek.

Her favorite author is Sidney Sheldon.

D'Cruz's hobbies include swimming, photography, and reading. She also spends an hour in the gym every day.

Her favorite colours are white, green and black.

Physical Characteristics: D'Cruz's height is 5' 5'' (165 cm), and she weighs around 121 lbs (55 kg). Her hair and eye colour is dark brown.

She has a tattoo "Inspire" written on her wrist.

Interests

• photography, reading

• Writers

  Sidney Sheldon

• Sport & Clubs

  swimming, gym

Connections

D'Cruz was in a relationship with Andrew Kneebone, an Australian photographer. It was rumored that they both had already been married. On August 28, 2019, Indian media aired the news based on social media reports that the couple have broken apart.

Father:

Ronaldo D'Cruz

Mother:

Samira D'Cruz

Brother:

Rhys D'Cruz

Sister:

Farrah D'Cruz

Sister:

Eileen D'Cruz

ex-boyfriend:

Andrew Kneebone

colleague:

John Abraham

colleague:

Priyanka Chopra

colleague:

Sonu Sood

colleague:

Akshay Kumar

colleague:

Ajay Devgn

colleague:

Salman Khan

colleague:

Saif Ali Khan

colleague:

Shahid Kapoor

colleague:

Ravi Teja

colleague:

Vijay Chandrasekhar

References

• Ileana D'Cruz's Official Instagram
• Ileana D'Cruz's Official Twitter