11 International Faces Who Entered Bollywood & Caught The Nation’s Fancy In A Big Way

In the Indian film industry, it’s strangely common to find a random foreign woman hanging around, usually as an extra dancing in the background or as the woman the lead hero has a fling with before having a change of heart and deciding to go back to his original Indian lover. Most of these women appear fleetingly, but some of them linger in Indian public memory, and some of them even manage to make a steady career in Indian entertainment. Let’s just hope it’s not because of our obsession with white skin.

Here are some foreign actresses who wowed Indian audiences!

1. Samantha Fox

This British glamour model was active in the 80s and 90s. She made a guest appearance in the movie ‘Rock Dancer’ in 1994. She danced along with Govinda in the song ‘Traffic Jam’ by Bappi Lahiri, and became a bit of an item song sensation.

2. Yana Gupta

This Czech model and actress started out at the age of 16, after which she spent some time studying in Japan. In 2001, she started modelling in India and became the brand ambassador of Lakme. Consequently, she entered Bollywood and became an instant favourite.

3. Giselli Monteiro

Giselli is a model and actress who was born in Espirito Santo, Brazil. She started her modeling career at the age of seventeen and came to India in 2008. In 2009, she starred in ‘Love Aaj Kal’ and in 2011, she acted in ‘Always Kabhi Kabhi’. She has appeared on the covers of leading magazines and is also the face of several fashion brands.

4. Barbara Mori

Barbara Mori was born in Uruguay and raised in Mexico. She started modelling at the age of 14 and acted in several successful Mexican TV shows. In 2008, she was signed on to play the leading lady in the film Kites starring Hrithik Roshan amid much fanfare and media talk.

5. Amy Jackson

Amy Jackson is a 23-year-old British actress who started off by modelling at the age of 16. She debuted in the 2010 Tamil period-drama Madrasapattinam and then appeared in the Bollywood flick Ekk Deewana Tha. She will now be seen in the upcoming Singh is Bling.

6. Elli Avram

Elli is a Swedish-Greek actress who found fame in India by appearing in the TV show Bigg Boss. Apart from that, she also appeared in the film Mickey Virus. Her popularity in India prompted her to permanently move to and live in Mumbai.

7. Hazel Keech

Hazel Keech is a British actress and model who has appeared in several Indian movies, ads and TV shows. Her journey started after receiving modelling offers while holidaying in Mumbai, and she went on to be in films like ‘Bodyguard’ and ‘Billa’, as well as appearing on Bigg Boss.

8. Bruna Abdullah

Bruna is originally a Brazilian model and actress and was born in Porto Alegre to parents of Lebanese descent. She started modelling in India while on holiday and soon moved to Mumbai, acting in commercials and TV shows. She has appeared in movies like ‘Grand Masti’ and ‘I Hate Love Stories’.

9. Sunny Leone

Sunny Leone was born in Sarnia, Ontario to Sikh Punjabi parents. She is an Indo-Canadian model, actress and former pornstar. She has appeared in the TV show Bigg Boss, and has made a pretty smooth transition into Bollywood, appearing films such as Jism 2 and Raagini MMS, among others.

10. Katrina Kaif

Katrina was born in British Hong Kong to a British mother. Her father is a businessman of Kashmiri descent. Her family moved a lot, and she lived in several countries including London before finally moving to India and achieving super-stardom.

11. Claudia Ciesla

Claudia was born in Poland to a German mother and a Polish father. She started modelling at the age of 15 and was acting in soap operas in 2008 and 2009. Following the path of a lot of people on this list, this lithe beauty was soon featured in Bigg Boss, had a role in Akshay Kumar’s Khiladi 786 and also appeared in the Indian version of Wipeout.