Happy Birthday Shilpa Shetty: Unseen and rare pictures of Baazigar Actress

Shilpa's father, Surendra, and her mother, Sunanda, are both manufacturers of tamper-proof water caps in the pharmaceutical industry. In Mumbai, Shetty attended St. Anthony Girls' High School in Chembur, Mumbai, and later attended Podar College in Matunga. A trained Bharatanatyam dancer, she was also captain of the volleyball team at school

In 1991, after completing her tenth grade examinations, Shetty began her career as a model with a Limca television commercial, and subsequently featured in several other commercials and advertisements, following which she began receiving offers for film roles. Shetty continued to pursue her career as a model, until she became an actress

Shilpa Shetty made her screen debut in the thriller Baazigar (1993) which garnered her two Filmfare Awards nominations, including one for Best Supporting Actress. She followed it with a leading role in the highly successful action comedy Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994) in which she played dual roles.

n September 1992, Shetty signed for and began working on her first film – the romantic drama Gaata Rahe Mera Dil[6] – to be directed by Dilip Naik which tells the story of a girl involved in a love triangle between two men (played by Ronit Roy and Rohit Roy). However, the film went unreleased, which meant that Shetty's debut release was her next film, Abbas-Mustan's thriller Baazigar, alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol.

In 2000, Shetty received acclaim for her role in Dhadkan, which earned reasonable takings at the Indian box office.[9] She received several nominations under the Best Actress category in award ceremonies. She would later go on to star with Anil Kapoor and Karisma Kapoor in the film Rishtey (2002). Her comic performance as an eccentric fisherwoman was appreciated and she received a nomination under the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award category and nominations for Best Comedian as well.

In 2017, The Indian government selected Shetty as a brand ambassador of the Swachh Bharat Mission, a campaign to improve sanitation throughout India.On 20 January 2020, She received the Champions of Change award for her work in that campaign.[38]

A rare click of Shilpa from her school days.

During her stay on Celebrity Big Brother 5, Shetty was alleged to be the target of racism and bullying by some other housemates, chiefly Jade Goody, Jo O'Meara and Danielle Lloyd.[42] After correcting Goody's mother, who mispronounced Shetty's name as 'Shiwpa', Shetty was mocked for her Indian accent and was branded "The Indian" and was referred to as a "dog" by Lloyd.