Preity Zinta is an Indian actress who made her film debut in the 1998 film Dil Se. She is well-known for her vivacious attitude and the dimpled smile that gained her hordes of admirers. She later starred in the action film Soldier in the same year. She made history in 2004 when she was nominated for a Filmfare in both the Best Actress and Best Villain categories in the same year. In addition, Preity is a successful businesswoman, a theatrical actor, and a social activist. Since 2008, her production business PZNZ Media has shared ownership of the Kings XI Punjab cricket franchise in the Indian Premier League.

Preity Early life and Birth Date:

Preity Zinta was born on January 31^st 1975 into a Hindu Rajput family from Shimla district, Himachal Pradesh. Her father, Durganand Zinta, was an officer in the Indian Army. When she was thirteen, he passed away in a vehicle crash in which her mother, Nilprabha, was also seriously hurt and had to stay bedridden for two years. She has two brothers; Deepankar and Manish, a year older and a year younger, respectively. Deepankar is a commissioned officer in the Indian Army, while Manish lives in California.

She studied at the Convent of Jesus and Mary boarding school in Shimla. Zinta enrolled in the Himachal Pradesh University branch of St. Bede's College in Shimla. After earning an honors degree in English, she enrolled in a doctorate program in psychology. After completing her doctorate studies in criminal psychology, she decided to pursue modelling.

Preity Acting Debut:

Preity first encountered the glitzy world of film in 1996 when she happened to run across a director at a friend's birthday celebration. She was given the opportunity to star in a Perk chocolate commercial by the director.

However, Preity's Bollywood career got off to a rough start. Her original role was alongside Hrithik Roshan in Shekhar Kapur's Tara Rum Pum Pum. However, it was shelved. Subsequently, Preity began filming Kya Kehna (2000) and Soldier (1998) concurrently. She made her screen debut in a small role in Mani Ratnam's Dil Se (1998), but both of the movies were postponed. Preity and Shah Rukh Khan shared the screen for twenty minutes, during which time Preity received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the Filmfare awards. In Soldier, she played the lead opposite Bobby Deol.

She went on to appear in movies such as Mission Kashmir (2000), Dil Chahta Hai (2001), and Lakshya (2004). In 2003 Preity had lead roles in the top three highest grossing movies of year; The Hero: Love Story of a Spy, Koi Mil Gaya, and Kal Ho Naa Ho. Preity won a lot of praise for her performance in Kal Ho Naa Ho. In 2004 Preity starred in Lakshya and Veer Zaara. Both the movies performed incredibly well at the box office and won multiple awards.

2008 also brought about a significant change in Preity's professional life. She went on to star in film office bombs, including Happy Ending (2014), Ishkq in Paris (2013), Heroes (2008), and Main Aurr Mrs Khanna (2009).

Preity Personal Life:

Preity married her long-time American partner Gene Goodenough at a private ceremony in Los Angeles on 29th February 2016. Goodenough is Senior VP for Finance at NLine Energy, a US- based hydroelectric power company. Through surrogacy, she and her husband were able to become parents to a boy and a girl in 2021.