Genelia Deshmukh (born 5 August 1987) is an Indian actress and model who predominantly appears in Telugu, Hindi, and Tamil language films.
Born in Mumbai, D’Souza is a Mangalorean Catholic. She was raised in the Bandra suburb of Mumbai. Her mother Jeanette D’Souza was a managing director of the Pharma Multinational corporation. She left her job in 2004 to help D’Souza with her career. Her father Neil D’Souza is a senior official with Tata Consultancy Services. She also has a younger brother, Nigel D’Souza, who works with the Bombay Stock Exchange.
D’Souza received her first Filmfare Award in 2006 for her performance in the Telugu romantic comedy film Bommarillu, which earned her critical acclaim. In 2008, she gave critically acclaimed performances in Santosh Subramaniam, a Tamil remake of Bommarillu, and the Hindi film Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na.
Her notable films include Satyam (2003), Sye (2004), Sachein (2005), Happy (2006), Dhee (2007), Ready (2008), Katha (2009), Urumi (2011), and the Hindi films Masti (2004), Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na (2008) and Force (2011). Having acted in several commercially successful movies in Telugu and Tamil, D’Souza was described as one of the leading actresses of the South Indian film industry in the 2000s.
She got married on 3 February 2012 to Ritesh Deshmukh, according to Marathi marriage traditions a Hindu wedding ceremony, they had a Christian wedding in the church on the next day. The couple’s first child, a son named Riaan, was born on 25 November 2014. Their second son, Rahyl, was born on 1 June 2016.
D’Souza’s professional film career began, with her Hindi film debut Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003.
In 2004, D’Souza appeared in her second Hindi film, Masti. The comedy focuses on 3 close friends who reunite after 3 years but are now married and are being harassed by their wives. D’Souza portrayed the character of one of the wives.
Her breakthrough performance came with the blockbuster romantic comedy–drama Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na (2008), in which she portrayed the central character of Aditi Mahant, was a major commercial success across India and overseas, grossing ₹564 million (US$7.1 million).
She appeared in Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya and Naa Ishtam in 2012 and in cameo appearances in Jai Ho and Lai Bhaari in 2014. In 2016, she appeared in a cameo role of Maya in Force 2.
On 24 October 2009, D’Souza began hosting ‘Big Switch, a television show based on slum kids on UTV Bindass channel to reach a bigger audience
