| Pooja Kumar | |
|---|---|
Kumar at the 2009 premiere of Bollywood Hero |
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| Born | February 4, 1977 St. Louis, Missouri, United States |
| Occupation | actor, model, television presenter, producer |
Pooja Kumar (Hindi:पूजा कुमार Pūjā Kumār) is an American actress, producer, model and television hostess. She was crowned Miss India USA and has been a veejay for Channel V, a newsreader on the show Namaste America and has starred in such feature films as Kaadhal Rojave, Night of Henna, Flavors, Hiding Divya, Park Sharks, Bollywood Beats, and Anything For You.
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Kumar was born into a Mathur[1] family in St. Louis, Missouri.[2] Her parents are immigrants from India; her father is from Dehradun and her mother is from Lucknow.[1] She also has a younger brother Dr Paraag Kumar also a male model. She attended Washington University where she graduated with degrees in political science and finance.[1] Kumar is also trained in the Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, and Kathak styles of Indian classical dance.[3] She was crowned Miss India USA in 1995.[4][5]
Kumar produced a short film, "1001 Auditions", that has been selected in eight film festivals, including being nominated for "Best Short" at the Stuttgart Film Festival in Germany.[6] She has also produced a short film called "Shoot My Life". Kumar has also been seen in national TV commercials for Bombay Dreams, Verizon, Dodge, Pearle Vision, New York Lottery, Tata True Roots, AOL Time Warner, and Outback Steakhouse.[7]
In 2003, she received the Screen Actors Guild Emerging Actress Award for Flavors. In 2008, she hosted a late-night live quiz show on Zee TV in India, known as Jaago Aur Jeeto. She appeared in the musical comedy miniseries Bollywood Hero on the IFC in 2008. She starred opposite Saturday Night Live comedian Chris Kattan in the three part series. In the late 2000s, she appeared in the Pakistani drama serial Ishq Junoon Dewaangi on Hum TV.[7]