Lisa Ray was born on April 4, 1976. She is a Canadian Bollywood actress and former fashion model. She grew up in Toronto, is the daughter of a Bengali father and a Polish mother. Ray started her modeling career at age 16 and was the "brand ambassador" for Lakme cosmetics in India. She made numerous advertisements for various Indian companies before becoming involved in films. She began her acting career with the film Kasoor in 2001 opposite Aftab Shivdasani. In 2005, she worked with Deepa Mehta in the most recent film, Water opposite John Abraham.