Biography

Her father Frank Handrich was a German interior designer; her mother is Deepa Mirza,[3] a Bengali. They separated when she was six years old. Her father died when she was nine and her mother remarried: Ahmed Mirza[4] whose surname she took, died in 2004.[5] She stated that she suffered from "low self-esteem" as a child.[6] Though she has been brought up in a Muslim household, she does not consider herself a Muslim; she is a [[Hindu]Biography - and believes in Ganesha.[7][8] When living in Khairatabad, Hyderabad, she attended Vidyaranya High School For Boys And Girls, a school based on the teachings of Krishnamurti, and later Nasr School, in Kushnuma.[9] Currently, she lives in Bandra, Mumbai. To brush up on acting before Shootout at Lokhandwala, she took a one week course of cinema at New York University[10] Dia wanted to complete her graduation in Arts by correspondence, but decided to postpone it as it was becoming difficult to juggle between the Miss Asia Pacific Competition, modeling assignments, traveling and training. She was assisted by Sabira Merchant on diction and etiquette; diet with Anjali Mukherjee; gymnasium and physical fitness with Talwalkars; clothes from Ritu Kumar and Hemant Trivedi; skin care with Dr. Jamuna Pai; and make-up and hair-care from Bharat and Doris Godambe.[11] She likes babies and chocolates, her favorite dishes include Italian Pasta and Hyderabadi Briyani and is proficient in Urdu, Bengali, Hindi, English, and Telugu.[12] She currently resides on Veronica Road, Bandra (West), Mumbai.[13] Her shoe size is 7, she has light brown eyes, brown hair, stands 5 ft 6 intall, weighs 52 kilos, and measures 33-25-36.[14]

Career

She made her cinematic debut with Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein opposite R. Madhavan. The film was not a box office success. A series of unsuccessful films followed, among them Tumsa Nahin Dekha and Deewaanapan.

In 2005, Mirza appeared in Parineeta, a Vidhu Vinod Chopra production. In 2006 she teamed up once again with Chopra and Sanjay Dutt for the successful film Lage Raho Munna Bhai. She also played in the music video Kajara Mohabbat Wala from Sonu Nigam album Kajara Nite.[15]

She has also appeared in Dus and in Fight Club. She will appear later this year in Familywala and Naa Naa Karte.

She has been recently engaged to an NRI in Michigan, in a secret ceremony at Auburn Palace - Auburn Hills MI, USA.