Jacqueline Fernandez

Jacqueline Fernandez (born 11 August 1985) is a Sri Lankan actress, former model, and the winner of the Miss Sri Lanka Universe pageant of 2006. She is known for appearing in Bollywood films. After graduating in Mass communication and working as a journalist in Sri Lanka, she accepted offers to join the modeling industry. She was crowned the Miss Sri Lanka Universe 2006, and represented her country at Miss Universe 2006 held in Los Angeles.

While on a modelling assignment in India in 2009, Fernandez got an offer to join Hindi film industry, thus making her acting debut in Sujoy Ghosh's fantasy drama Aladin, a commercial failure. For the film, she won an International Indian Film Academy Awardâ€"Best Female Debut. In 2011, Fernandez appeared in the thriller Murder 2, a financial success. She followed it by playing the leading lady in the ensemble comedy Housefull 2 (2012) and the action thrillers Race 2 (2013) and Kick (2014).

Fernandez's off-screen life includes social activism and participation in stage shows. She is also a celebrity endorser for several brands.

Early life and pageantry

Fernandez was born on 11 August 1985, into a mixed ethnic family, in which her father is a Sri Lankan, while her mother is of mixed Malaysian and Canadian ancestry. Her great-grandparents were originally from Goa, India. She is the youngest of four, with one elder sister, and two elder brothers. Although, she was raised in Bahrain, she said she originally lived in Sri Lanka. Prior to become a TV reporter, she started hosting TV shows in Bahrain, when she was barely fourteen years old. After graduating in Mass Communication from Australia, she moved to Sri Lanka, where she relocated at her grandparents place, and joined a Television station. From then, she began reporting and investigating mainly on political turmoil. According to an article published in Lanka Journal, she had aspired to become an actress, when she was eight years old. Although, she was a TV reporter, she accepted offers to join the modeling industry, which came as a result of her pageant entrance and for which she was crowned the Miss Sri Lanka Universe 2006, and represented her state at Miss Universe 2006 held in Los Angeles where she was unplaced. In 2007, Fernandez appeared on her first commercial in a music video for Sri Lankan duo Bathiya and Santhush.

Acting career

Early film career (2009â€"2010)

Fernandez made her acting debut in the 2009 Bollywood fantasy movie Aladin playing a character inspired by the Disney Princess character of Jasmine. For her performance, Fernandez received mixed reviews, with Anupama Chopra of NDTV calling her a "plastic debutant". However, Taran Adarsh of BollywoodHungama complimented her more on her looks, rather than her performance by saying, "Jacqueline Fernandez gets no scope, but she looks gorgeous nonetheless.

In year 2010, she was seen once again appearing alongside Ritesh Deshmukh in the romantic comedy Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai. She received mainly negative reviews for her performance. Rediff criticized her by writing," She gamely makes a fool of herself whilst aping the actions of movie stars, ranging from Sridevi's Naagin dance, Mithun Chakravarthy's Disco Dancer moves to Big B's violent headshake in Hum. Her Tara could be a keeper if only Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai wasn't so intent on turning her into a love-struck Barbie. That year, she made a cameo appearance in Sajid Khan's Housefull in the song "Dhanno".

2011â€"present

In 2011, Fernandez appeared in her third film, Mahesh Bhatt's thriller Murder 2 which emerged as a major economic success. Fernandez played the role of Priya, a lonely model who is in a confused relationship with Arjun Bhagwat, played by Emraan Hashmi. Fernandez grabbed a lot of attention for the boldness and sex appeal she displayed in the movie, with her performance receiving decent reviews.

Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama reviewed, "Stepping into Mallika's shoes in the sequel is Jacqueline. Like Mallika, she takes the boldness quotient to the next level with her sexy avatar. She should grab a lot of eyeballs for the oomph factor, while her performance is decent. In fact, she gets little scope to display histrionics, but she makes a sincere attempt to portray her character with care." A review from the The Times of India stated that Fernandez was "tastefully tempting" but noted that her romance with Hashmi was "literally half-baked". Murder 2 launched Fernandez's career for the good, as she started getting offers from big production houses. Post Murder 2 success, Fernandez turned down many roles, such as Raaz 3, to avoid being type cast as a sex symbol.

In 2012, Fernandez appeared in Housefull 2 with an ensemble cast which included Akshay Kumar, Asin and Rishi Kapoor. It became one of the top grossing productions of India that year and grossed 1.86 billion (US$29Â million) worldwide. Also, Fernandez received positive reviews for her performance. Gaurav Malani of Times Of India stated, "So Jacqueline Fernandez wins the race with her gorgeous looks..." Mrigank Dhaniwala of KoiMoi said, "Of all the girls, Asin and Jacqueline Fernandez get the meatiest of roles and they do not disappoint." Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave a mixed review by saying, "Amongst the female leads, Asin has the meatiest role and gives a decent account of herself. Jacqueline, Shazahn and Zarine act more as eye candy. They are the typical sultry and enticing selves; each one is befitting in her own space."

Fernandez's first release of 2013 was Race 2 which was described by critics as the "cinematic equivalent of a trashy novel", however was a box-office hit, with collections surpassing the 1 billion (US$16Â million) mark in domestic ticket sales. Her performance in the film met with generally positive reviews, with Lisa Tsering, of The Hollywood Reporter stating, "Miss Sri Lanka Jacqueline Fernandez, a leggy beauty with a talent for action who now counts seven Indian films under her belt, is another plus. Welcome to Bollywood, Miss Fernandez". Joginder Tuteja of Indicine noted, "Jacqueline has a bigger part to play and she does it well while looking her best." Fernandez also appeared in an item number titled "Jaadu Ki Jhappi" for Prabhu Deva's Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya.

In 2014, Fernandez appeared in Sajid Nadiadwala's directorial debutâ€"the action thriller Kick, a remake of the 2009 Telugu film of the same name. Featuring opposite Salman Khan, Fernandez played Shaina, a psychiatric student. She dubbed in her own voice for the first time in Kick. On her performance, Sneha May Francis commented that she is "incredibly dazzling, and moves like [...] magic," while critic Mohar Basu found her chemistry with Khan "palpable". However, Raja Sen was more critical of her dialogue delivery, calling it "unfortunate." The film received mixed reviews from critics, but with a worldwide revenue of over 3.6 billion (US$57Â million), it emerged as a blockbuster.

Upcoming Projects

As of January 2015, Fernandez has several projects in development. She is scheduled to appear in Vicky Singh's romantic thriller Roy, in which she will play dual roles alongside Arjun Rampal and Ranbir Kapoor. She has completed shooting for Chandran Rutnam's crime-thriller According to Mathew, an English-Sri Lankan film, awaiting release. She has also completed filming for her Hollywood debut titled Definition of Fear. Fernandez will feature in a cameo appearance for the satire Bangistan opposite Ritesh Deshmukh and Pulkit Samrat. She is currently filming for Karan Malhotra's Brothers, a remake of the 2011 sports drama Warrior with Akshay Kumar and Sidharth Malhotra. Fernandez has also signed on to appear in three other projectsâ€"Rohit Dhawan's Dishoom opposite Varun Dhawan and John Abraham as a part of three-film deal with Nadiadadwala production, Remo D'Souza's next with Tiger Shroff and in an Indo-Chinese film with Amitabh Bachchan, Jackie Chan and Abhay Deol.

In the media

In addition to acting in films, Fernandez has supported charitable organisations, and performed for stage shows. In the early 2013, on the behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (India), she sent a letter to the consulate general of the Philippines in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to expedite the transfer of the elephant Mali from the inadequate Manila Zoo to a lush sanctuary. That year, she auctions a breakfast in Mayfair, London which she raises around Â£4000 for helping Pratham (her friend's) NGO involving for Children's primary education. She then went on to join hands with PETA in order to prevent cruelty to horses. In 2014, Fernandez was named "Woman Of The Year" by PETA (India).

She had performed at the 55th Filmfare Awards, IIFA Awards, Star Guild Awards, BIG Star Entertainment Awards and Apsara Awards, as well as at the Temptations Reloaded in Auckland alongside, Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji and Madhuri Dixit. She performed at "Got Talent World Stage Live" with Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Varun Dhawan.

In early 2013, she became the ambassador for HTC One which she endorses in India. and, she was chosen as the face of Indian Bridal Fashion Weekâ€"IBFW of 2013. On 16 October, she launched Gareth Pugh's designed Forevermark Diamonds in Mumbai, as the spokesperson and inaugurated Forever 21 store in Mumbai. That year, she also launched Gilette revolutionary shaving system with Arbaaz Khan and Aditya Roy Kapur.

In 2011, a poll conducted by the newspaper, Times of India ranked her #7, among ''Top 50 Most Desirable Women''. Following, the next year, she ranked #8, in the second version of the poll and adavnced to the #3 in the third edition of the poll. In the early 2013, Indian [edition] FHM magazine, ranked her at #21; of ''100 Sexiest Women In The World 2013.'' In the same year, a newspaper, ''World Actuality'', ranked her #23, among the ''most beautiful women in the world.''

She has been the cover model for many Indian editions of magazines, including Vogue, FHM, Maxim, Cosmopolitan, Grazia, Elle, Verve, Harper's Bazaar, Women's Health, L'Officiel and Femina among others.