Deepika Padukone: On Her Birthday

Deepika Padukone did not start her Bollywood game with a 'Love All'! Her dream debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan, gave the Kannadiga lass a 5-0 lead over opponents even before the first serve.

From being the most promising new face in Hindi Cinema, Deepika has graduated to being one of the most admired actors of her generation. With movie moguls and big banners vying with each other to sign her up, Deepika is all set to race to the Match Point!

Here are a few stunning snaps of the ravishing Deepika Padukone, who turns 26 on 05 Jan 2012.

Deepika was born in Copenhagen (Denmark), in 1986, to badminton legend Prakash Padukone and Ujjala Padukone.

Deepika played Badminton in school, and also played at the state level, but quit Badminton to pursue her modeling dreams. On the other hand, Anisha, Deepika's younger sister, plays every sport, except badminton!

Deepika attended Sophia High School in Bangalore, and later did her graduation from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore.

Deepika learned acting under Anupam Kher and dance under Shiamak Davar.

Her upcoming movies include 'Cocktail', 'Rana', 'Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani' and 'Race 2'.

Deepika Padukone on her 26th birthday: 'I'm planning to celebrate the day with family and friends. I recently gifted myself my dream home and I'm more than happy with that at the moment to think of gifting myself anything else.'

'I want my father to be honoured with the title of Bharat Ratna, considering his contribution to badminton throughout his career,' says Deepika.

Deepika on her stint in Bollywood: 'I think what made people accept me is that I can be glamorous and also the girl-next-door. I have heard this from people who have approached me with campaigns and endorsement offers. I have worked really hard to get what I'm getting. I'm very passionate about movies and my constant effort is to outdo myself and challenge my acting skills. I'm happy with what I have got - but this isn't enough.'

Deepika on competition: 'I just love how Kareena carries herself. She is extremely graceful. I think Katrina is very hard working and that is a big reason behind her success. Priyanka has shown how versatile she can be and done some very good work recently.'

Deepika Padukone is the brand ambassador of BSNL, Fiama Di Wills and Neutrogena Deep Clean. She demands Rs 1.5 crore per ad.

She first appeared on the video of Himesh Reshammiya's private album, 'Aap Ka Suroor', in the song 'Naam Hai Tera Tera'.

Her Bollywood debut was in Farah Khan's 'Om Shanti Om' (2007) for which she earned critical acclaim and won the Filmfare, IIFA and Zee Cine Awards for Best Debutante.

Deepika has been linked to model Nihar Pandya, cricketers Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, actor Ranbir Kapoor, and most recently, the Kingfisher scion, Siddharth Mallya.