"I`ve never had anyone to guide me in Bollywood. I`m extremely self-willed." As says Bollywood beauty with brains Lara Dutta. It has proved when she scored the highest marks in the history of Miss Universe Contest. When she was crowned Miss Universe 2000, making history as not only the most beautiful but also the most intelligent young woman to wear this crown in the history of Miss Universe.

Lara Dutta was born on 16th April 1978 in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. She was born to her father Wing Commander L.K. Dutta and mother Jennifer Dutta. Her mother is Half Scottish and half Indian. Lara has two sisters, one of whom serves in the Indian Air Force. Famed composer and DJ Nitin Sawhney is their cousin. They moved to Bangalore where she completed her schooling from Frank Anthony Public School and then graduated from Bombay University in Economics.

In 1997 Lara enrolled and subsequently won the Miss Gladrags competition and represented India at the Miss Intercontinental in 1997. She was the first to represent India and she took first place. Later, she was crowned Femina Miss India Universe and Miss Universe in 2000. It made her the second Indian to win this prestigious award. At Miss Universe 2000 in Cyprus, Lara Dutta was the clear favourite ahead of untamed competition from Venezuela, Spain, USA and Canada. Her finalist interview score, in the last year was the highest individual score in any category in the history of the Miss Universe contest. A majority of the judges gave her the maximum 9.99 mark. After this there was no turning back.

After completing her Miss Universe commitments, she received several offers from Bollywood moviemakers. She made her debut in the film`Andaaz` in 2003, which won her considerable recognition, and she subsequently won the best female debut award from Femina and Filmfare. Thereafter, most of her movies failed to make a mark at the box office. However, she did become popular and a household name. Some of the movies she is remembered for are `Masti`, `No Entry, and `Kaal`.

The year 2007 experienced the release of `Partner`, `Jhoom Barabar Jhoom`. Her forthcoming movies include, `Hey Baby`, `London Dreams`, `Dulha Mil Gaya, amongst others.

She is also known for her sense of humor, and a talent for writing. She has now announced that she will write scripts, and hopes that one day someone from Bollywood will make flicks out of them.