Ameesha Patel was born on June 9, 1976, in a Gujarati family. Very few know that Ameesha is the granddaughter of the famous lawyer-politician Barrister Rajni Patel, who was the Congress Pradesh Committee President of Mumbai. (All photos/mid-day archives)

Ameesha Patel, elder sister of actor Ashmit Patel, started learning Bharatnatyam when she was five and has given many live performances. Ameesha has also been a brilliant student and has excelled on the educational front

After schooling, Ameesha Patel went to the US for further studies and did two years of Biogenetic engineering. Later, she switched to Economics and graduated with a gold medal. Yes! She can be truly called 'Beauty with brains'

After returning to India, Ameesha Patel started working with her dad Amit Patel in his office, but her heart wasn't in it. She quit and later worked for a finance company, however, she wasn't really happy there too, though she was good at her work. After convincing her parents for almost a year, Ameesha finally got a nod and entered showbiz. But, with a condition that she should do quality films and not go on a signing spree

In 2000, Ameesha Patel made a smashing Bollywood debut with Hrithik Roshan in Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai. After her debut, she delivered hits like Gadar, opposite Sunny Deol, and Humraaz, opposite Bobby Deol and Akshaye Khanna

Ameesha Patel has earlier spent her birthdays on film sets, Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000), Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001), Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), Humraaz (2002) and Race 2 (2013). 'And they all turned out to be lucky,' she said

2000 was a significant year for the economic analyst turned model. Ameesha made her debut in the blockbuster Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai opposite future Bollywood superstar Hrithik Roshan. She received the offer to star in the film courtesy her father's schoolmate actor-director Rakesh Roshan who was also making the film

Though she initially dropped out to pursue her academic interests, the role went to Kareena Kapoor instead. But Kareena opted out of the film and Patel was given the opportunity once again during a family lunch with Rakesh Roshan in presence. The film was a tremendous success and established her as a rising star

2001 saw Ameesha Patel don the role of a Pakistani woman in love with an Indian man in the critically and commercially successful Gadar: Ek Prem Katha alongside Sunny Deol. Set during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1947, the film went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of the 21st century earning Rs 973 million in India.

Ameesha Patel career experienced a mixture of failure and success in 2002. Films like Kranti, David Dhawan's Yeh Hai Jalwa were not that big hits. However, she found success with the smash-hit Abbas-Mustan thriller Humraaz which also starred Bobby Deol and Akshaye Khanna. Her portrayal as a woman with grey shades won her plaudits from critics and audiences alike

Ameesha Patel also tasted box office success with films like Kya Yehi Pyaar Hai opposite Aftab Shivdasani.

Ameesha Patel also found box-office recognition in the 2005 historical epic Mangal Pandey: The Rising which saw her essay the role of Jwala, a soft-spoken Bengali widow who gets rescued from committing Sati by a British officer

During this time, Ameesha Patel appeared in a number of TV talk shows like Rendezvous with Simi Garewal, The Manish Malhotra Show and many others

Ameesha Patel found renewed success with the 2007 film Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. playing the role of a talkative wife of a husband with gay leanings. She also starred in the hit 2007 film Bhool Bhulaiyaa, a Bollywood remake of director Priyadarshan's popular Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu, also starring Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan

Ameesha Patel's bikini number 'Lazy Lamhe' in the 2008 Kunal Kohli film Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic won her praise

In 2011, Ameesha Patel launched her production company - Ameesha Patel Productions - with her friend and business partner Kuunal Goomer

Ameesha Patel returned to the big screen in 2013 with the commercially successful film Race 2 as Anil Kapoor's assistant

After Shortcut Romeo, Ameesha Patel was set to star in Sunny Deol's Bhaiaji Superhit. The film also starred Preity Zinta. However, the film after multiple delays, finally hit screens in 2018, almost five years after its announcement

Asked about Desi Magic's release, Ameesha Patel admits it has been a long journey. 'By now, I should have been on the set of my next home production, but due to certain issues, the film is taking time. We changed the script to an extent and made the scale bigger and better. So, we are not really complaining about the delay, if anything, it has only helped make the film better.'

Ameesha believes the time spent on making a film doesn't matter as long as the result is good. 'The audience comes to the theatres for a good film and not for a film that's made on time. We have seen several of them not even surviving till Monday (day four). Kuunal (Goomer, production partner) and I are not making a small film. As first-time producers, we are making a big, entertaining film and that too on our own,' she reasoned

Here's wishing a very happy birthday to Ameesha Patel!