Lara Dutta was born in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh on 16th April 1978. Her parents are L.K.Dutta, a Wing Commander and her mother is Jennifer Dutta, a singer for Doordarshan Radio, Jalandhar. Her roots are a mix of Tamil, Punjabi and Nordic. She is the youngest of three sisters. Lara’s growing up years were spent in Bangalore where she studied at St Francis Xavier Girl’s High School and later at Frank Anthony Public School. She has a degree in Economics from Mumbai University.
Her moment of glory was when she won the Gladrags modeling competition and represented India at the Miss Intercontinental Pageant in 1997 which she won. In 2000, she was crowned Miss Universe. She became the UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador in 2001. She dumped her boyfriend of seven years, model Kelly Dorji. She was also said to be dating New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.