Preity Zinta is much like many of the characters she plays: a proud, independent woman of great warmth and depth. She made her acting debut in Dil Se (1998) and won a Filmfare Best Actress Award for Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), both opposite Shahrukh Khan. Her hits include Koi...Mil Gaya (2003), Salaam Namaste (2005), and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006). In 2003, she testified against the mob after receiving extortion threats—she was the only one of 13 prosecution witnesses, including other celebrities, who did not retract earlier statements, and she was commended by the public for her courage. Recently, she has ventured into art film, appearing with Amitabh Bachchan in The Last Lear, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2007. She won the Best Actress award at the 2008 Chicago International Film Festival for her role in the Canadian film, Heaven on Earth, which was based on the true story of a battered wife in Canada’s Punjabi community. When, in 2008, she purchased an ownership stake in the professional Indian cricket team, the Kings XI Punjab, she was the youngest owner (she was born in 1975) and the only female owner in the league. In 2009, she ended a four-year relationship with businessman Ness Wadia.
