Pooja Bedi Biography

Pooja Bedi (Hindi: पूजा बेदी) (born 11 May 1970) is a former Bollywood  actress and currently a television talk show host, and daughter of Kabir Bedi.

Personal life
Pooja Bedi was born in Mumbai, India to a noted Indian classical danseuse, the late Protima and an international film star, Kabir Bedi. She was brought up in a bohemian progressive artistic environment. She has a Buddhist name Karma Saraswati given to her by the Karmapa, a Hindu name Pooja and a Sikh name Bedi. She also has a Muslim name Noorjehan post marriage to Farhan Furniturewalla. She met him in 1990 and married him in 1994. She has two children, daughter Aalia born in 1997 and a son Omar, born in 2000. She got divorced in 2002. She loves water sports, chess,reading and travelling.

She received her basic education at Besant Montessori in Mumbai and later the acclaimed Lawrence School, Sanawar She was part of the debating team, hockey team, basket ball team and swimming team. She was an exceptionally bright student and had the privilege of signing the School Book of Honour.

Career
From 1991 to 1994, she worked in Bollywood movies, did many commercials and campaigns. She is best remembered for the Kama Sutra condom campaign which she endorsed and used as a medium to talk about AIDS awareness. A popular person, she was considered the poster girl for the new breed of liberated and independent women emerging in India.

She has taken part in theater in plays such as the smash box office hits Carry on Papa, Wow what a girl and a Bengali Jatra.

She made her film debut with Jag Mundhra's 1991 film Vishkanya. She went on act in her most popular film to date, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander (1992) with Aamir Khan, and appeared in a few more films such as Lootere (1993) and Aatank Hi Aatank (1995).

In 2000, she complied and edited, "Timepass", the memoirs of her late mother, Protima Bedi. She has been a columnist with the Times of India newspaper as well as Hindustan Times, and has been a columnist for Midday newspaper as well as written articles for numerous publications like L'officiel, Femina and The Week.

She has hosted Celebrity talk shows since 2004 one of which formerly titled Not just Page 3 was later known as Just Pooja. It was telecast on the channel, zOOm. She has won multiple awards for this show and did over a 100 episodes.

In 2007, she participated in a dance contest Jhalak Dikhlaja on Sony Entertainment Television (based on Dancing with the Stars) and has since taken up Latin American ballroom dancing. She later performed with her choreographer/ partnerHanif Hilal at events and functions all across the globe. She took part in a popular dance contest Nach Baliye (Season 3) on STAR PLUS. She participated in the Indian version of Fear Factor Khatron Ke Khiladi 2008,on Colors channel and did unimaginable dare devil stunts like flipping cars and jumping off helicopters. She reached the semi finals.She hosted the Saturday special episode of Bigg Boss season 2 where she grilled the evictees of the home on her show Bigg Boss Aakhri Salaam on Colors.

She has been brand ambassador to Kaya Skin Clinic, Allergan India and the Country Club (CCIL INDIA).