Birthday:
18 October 1984, Bombay, Maharashtra, India [now Mumbai, Maharashtra, India]
Height:
5' 6" (1.68 m)
Biography
Freida Pinto traversed the modeling circuit in Mumbai
[represented by Elite Model Management India] for two years before
gaining her big break when director Danny Boyle picked her out in the
audition process to play the female lead, Latika, for his project
Slumdog Millionaire (2008). In a promo interview, Boyle likened spotting
her to his discovery of Kelly Macdonald for Trainspotting.
Early life and modeling career
Pinto was born into a Mangalorean Catholic family in Mumbai.[2][3] Her surname is of Portuguese origin as the result of her ancestors' conversion to Catholicism by missionaries.[4][5] Her mother, Sylvia, is the principal of St. John's High School (Goregaon), and her father, Frederick, is a senior branch manager at the Bank of Baroda.[6] Pinto has an elder sister, Sharon, who is the associate producer of NDTV, a news channel.[7] Pinto aspired to become an actress since she was five years old.[8] When she was ten, Sushmita Sen won Miss Universe 1994, which inspired the former to become an actress and turned out to be a defining point in her life.[9][10] Pinto studied at the Carmel of St. Joseph School in Malad, Mumbai, where she actively participated in sports and sang in the school choir. She completed a degree in arts with a major in English literature, and minors in Psychology and Economics, from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai.[8][11][12]Pinto is an accomplished dancer in Salsa and Classical Indian dance.[1] She acted in plays and amateur theatre while attending college.[10] Later she joined the Elite Model Management and modeled for two-and-half years.[8] Pinto was featured in several television and print advertisements endorsing products such as Wrigley's Chewing Gum, Škoda, Vodafone India, Airtel, Visa, E-Bay and DeBeers.[6] She modeled for four years and appeared in runway shows and magazine covers including Femina and FNL.[6][7] She learned acting from "The Barry John's Acting Studio" in Andheri, Mumbai where she was trained by theatre director Barry John.[1]
Acting career
Career beginnings and breakthrough (2008–10)
Pinto next starred in Woody Allen's comedy-drama film You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, alongside Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Anupam Kher and Naomi Watts.[21] The film premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, receiving negative reviews.[22] Pinto played a minor role as the character Dia.[23] She next appeared in the 2011 science fiction film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a reboot of the Planet of the Apes series, where she played Caroline, a primatologist, and was cast opposite James Franco. Pinto played the central character in her next production Miral, a biographical film based on a novel by Rula Jebreal. The film opened to negative reviews. A review from East Bay Express noted, "Pinto handles the central role with a certain dignity, but the real drama is in Miral's rejection of violence in favor of Hind Husseini’s (Abbass) example of education and negotiation."[24] Following that, Pinto starred in 2011 fantasy-action-drama film, Immortals, in which she played the oracle priestess Phaedra.[25] The same year, she played "Princess Lailah" in the 1930s-set period drama film Black Gold; she was cast alongside Antonio Banderas and Mark Strong.[26]
Trishna and the future (2011–present)
In 2011, Pinto starred in Michael Winterbottom's British drama film Trishna alongside Riz Ahmed; she played the titular character in the film. An acclimatization of Thomas Hardy's novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles, the film first premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. Described by The Guardian as a "seductive, allegorical study of male-female relationships",[27] the film features Pinto as the daughter of a peasant who falls in love with a London-based hotelier, played by Ahmed.[28] Unlike her previous films, Trishna gained positive response from critics.[29] The film was universally acclaimed as it was nominated for the Best Film Award at the London Film Festival and Grand Prix at the Tokyo International Film Festival.[30]Pinto's forthcoming release, Desert Dancer is a biographical drama film that revolves around the life of a dancer. Pinto underwent rigorous dance training consisting of eight hours of rehearsals a day lasting for 14 weeks, as demanded by the role.[31] As of 2013, she is scheduled to act with Christian Bale in Knight of Cups,[32] and the romantic thriller NH10, which marks Pinto's Bollywood debut. The film, which began filming in March 2013, has since been delayed.[33]
Media image and personal life
Soon after the release of Slumdog Millionaire, Pinto garnered immense popularity and was frequently included in the "Most Beautiful Women in the World" list. In 2009, she was featured in People magazine's "Most Beautiful People List",[34] and "List of World's Best Dressed Women".[35] The same year, Daily Telegraph reported that Pinto was the highest-paid Indian actress, although she never appeared in a Bollywood film.[36] She was also included in Vogue's 2009 list of the "top ten most stylish women".[37] On 13 May 2009, Pinto became a new spokesmodel for L'Oréal.[38] A controversy arose when she appeared in a TV commercial promoting L'Oreal, as many thought it to be racial discrimination from countries that are possessive about fair skin. The commercial showcased Pinto in what many perceived to be a lighter skin tone due to make-up or editing.[39] In 2010, she was featured in the "Top 99 Most Desirable Women" poll conducted by Askmen.com.[40] Two years later, People named her one of the "Most Beautiful at Every Age".[41] The following year, Pinto was voted the "Hottest Indian Chick" in a controversial poll conducted by GQ.[42]Before making her film debut Pinto was engaged to former publicist Rohan Antao; the relationship ended in January 2009.[43] After that she started dating her Slumdog Millionaire co-star Dev Patel. Since then the couple have been living together in Los Angeles.[44] Later in an interview, Pinto stated that she does not want to act with Patel as she feels they will not be able to meet out the "chemistry" they had in their debut film.[45] Pinto was criticised for having "shunned" the Indian film industry.[46] However, she claimed that she is unable to find roles that suit her in Bollywood. She also stated that she enjoys watching Bollywood films and is keen to act in future.[47]
Pinto joined Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf in support of their philanthropic organisation, the "Agassi Foundation". She is the only Indian actress to have participated in their annual fund raiser titled, "The 15th Grand Slam for Children", aimed at raising funds for the education of underprivileged children.[48] In 2013, she appeared in a video clip for Gucci's "Chime for Change" campaign to raise funds and awareness of women's issues in terms of education, health, and justice.[49] In April 2013, Pinto collaborated with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim for the Call to Action – Girl Rising campaign. The documentary film Girl Rising made by Academy Award nominee Richard E. Robbins, showcases the power of education in transforming girls' lives around the globe.[50]
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Slumdog Millionaire | Latika | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Palm Springs International Film Festival – Breakthrough Performance Award Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated – Black Reel Awards of 2008 – Best Ensemble Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Best Female Breakthrough Performance Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss |
| 2010 | You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger | Dia | |
| Miral | Miral | ||
| 2011 | Rise of the Planet of the Apes | Caroline Aranha | |
| Immortals | Phaedra | ||
| 2012 | Day of the Falcon | Princess Leyla | Film also referred to as Black Gold |
| Trishna | Trishna | ||
| 2013 | Knight of Cups | Post-Production | |
| Desert Dancer | Mentor | Post-Production |
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