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Lisa Ray

Summary

Lisa Rani Ray (born 4 April 1972)[1] is a Canadian actress. She began her modelling career in India in the early 1990s, appearing for leading Indian brands like Bombay Dyeing and Lakmé. She made her acting debut in 1994 in the film Hanste Khelte. Through her acting career, Ray has demonstrated a penchant for issue-oriented portrayals, most notably in the 2005 Oscar-nominated Canadian film Water and the award-winning South African feature The World Unseen, described by a reviewer as "one of the best-conceived queer films of the past year."[2]

Lisa Ray
Ray in 2012
Born (1972-04-04) 4 April 1972 (age 52)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupations
  • Actress
  • model
Years active1991–present
Spouse
Jason Dehni
​
(m. 2012)​
Children2
Websitelisaraywrites.com

In 2009, Ray was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable form of blood cancer.[3] She began writing The Yellow Diaries, a blog about her experiences of having cancer.[4] Her writing and columns have since regularly appeared in multiple major publications.[5][6] Ray remains an active advocate of stem-cell therapy[7] and has participated in several successful fundraisers and cancer awareness campaigns.

In 2011, Ray began hosting a popular travel show on Discovery Channel India[8] alongside appearing as host and judge in Food Network's highest rated show, Top Chef Canada.[9]

In 2016, Ray opened an Instagram account dedicated to poetry.[10] In March 2019, Ray participated as a panelist on the 2019 edition of Canada Reads where she advocated for David Chariandy's award-winning second novel, Brother.[11]

Early life edit

Ray was born in Toronto to a Bengali Hindu father and a Polish Catholic mother[12] and grew up in the suburb of Etobicoke. She spoke Polish with her maternal grandmother and watched movies of Federico Fellini and Satyajit Ray with her cinephile dad.[13] During her childhood she spent some time in Calcutta.[14]

She excelled academically, doing five years of high school in four, while attending three different high schools: Etobicoke Collegiate Institute, Richview Collegiate Institute and Silverthorn Collegiate Institute.[15]

Modelling, film and television career edit

1991–2000 edit

Ray's modelling career began when she was "discovered" during a family vacation in India while still in her teens. An advertisement for Bombay Dyeing where she appeared in a black swimsuit opposite Karan Kapoor earned Ray her first taste of public attention.[16][17][18][19] A subsequent meeting with Maureen Wadia, editor of Indian fashion magazine Gladrags, resulted in an iconic swimsuit cover that catapulted Ray to nationwide fame in India. "Most of my most fulfilling professional moments came to me via serendipity", Ray later wrote.[20]

By the time the Gladrags cover broke, Ray was back in Toronto ready to begin university. Her plans were thwarted after a tragic auto accident that would consign her mother to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.[21][22] Ray returned to India and went on to become one of the country's first supermodels, and the face of Lakmé and Bombay Dyeing.[23] Ray would later acknowledge this coinciding of professional triumph and personal tragedy as a recurring theme in her life. "I have come to recognise that every major turning point in my life is preceded by pain", she wrote in Femina in 2016.[21]

As one of India's most successful cover models, Ray would subsequently lend her face to iconic global brands such as L’Oréal, MasterCard, De Beers and Rado.[24] A Times of India poll named her the "ninth most beautiful woman of the millennium," the only model in the top ten.[15] She co-anchored the TV show Star Biz on Star Movies[25] and appeared in a music video for Afreen Afreen, a ghazal written by Javed Akhtar, and composed and performed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

2001–2009 edit

 
Lisa Ray being interviewed on The Hour

After turning down a number of roles,[26] Ray made her Indian Film Industry debut in 2001 with the Hindi film Kasoor, opposite Aftab Shivdasani,[16] in which her voice was dubbed by Divya Dutta, because she could not speak Hindi.[27] In spite of that, her performance received positive reviews.[28] Her work in the film also caught the eye of Deepa Mehta, who cast her in the romantic Indian-Canadian romp Bollywood/Hollywood in 2002.[13]

Realizing that acting was something that she wanted to pursue more seriously, Ray moved to London to concentrate on a career in the performing arts. While there, Ray studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama, the London Centre for Theatre Studies, the Desmond Jones school of Physical Theatre, and BADA. She graduated from the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA), in 2004, with a post-graduate degree in acting.[29] While studying, Ray made a conscious effort to not accept any film offers until she had graduated. However, while still at ALRA, she received another call from Deepa Mehta, who made her an offer she simply could not refuse—the lead role of Kalyani in Mehta's much-anticipated, and eventually highly controversial,[30] feature, Water.[29] In the film, Lisa spoke her lines in Hindi, although her voice was dubbed in the final cut.[27] Water released in 2005 to both national and global critical acclaim, with the venerable Roger Ebert describing it as "lovely in the way Satyajit Ray's films are lovely",[31]

Ray has since worked in productions from Canada, Europe, and the United States. Past roles include a farm girl in All Hat, a school teacher in A Stone's Throw, and a housewife in 1950s-apartheid South Africa in The World Unseen. In 2008 Ray starred, alongside Sheetal Sheth and Amber Rose Revah, in the Shamim Sarif directed British romantic comedy I Can't Think Straight that went on to win awards in queer film festivals worldwide, including Dallas OUT TAKES, Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, and Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film festival.[citation needed]

After graduation, Ray based herself out of Milan, Paris, and New York from 2004 to 2008, returning to Toronto upon her mother's death in late 2008.[29] In 2007, Ray completed filming for Kill Kill Faster Faster, which is a contemporary film noir inspired by the critically acclaimed novel of the same name, by Joel Rose. She guest-starred in a 2009 episode of the USA Network series Psych,[citation needed] and appeared in Woody Harrelson starrer Canadian-American superhero film Defendor.[citation needed] Also in 2009, she starred in the Deepa and Dilip Mehta comedy Cooking with Stella.

Appearing at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival in support of the film, Ray revealed that she had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma.[32]

2010s edit

On Christmas in 2009, Ray received a stem cell transplant to treat her rare cancer. In April 2010, she announced she was cancer-free due to the transplant. She gave a candid interview on her personal cancer trauma and surviving it, appearing on the cover of the 2010 anniversary issue of the Indian men's luxury magazine The Man.[33]

2010 saw Ray in UniGlobe Entertainment's cancer docu-drama titled 1 a Minute.[34] The documentary was made by Namrata Singh Gujral and featured cancer survivors Olivia Newton-John, Diahann Carroll, Melissa Etheridge, Mumtaz, Bárbara Mori and Jaclyn Smith, as well as William Baldwin, Daniel Baldwin, and Priya Dutt, whose lives have been touched by cancer. The feature was narrated by Kelly McGillis.

On 5 July 2010, Ray hosted an informal lunch for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip during their visit to Toronto.[35]

In 2011, Ray acted in the stage play Taj, opposite Kabir Bedi at Luminato Festival, Toronto's International Festival of Arts and Ideas.[36] Written by Canadian playwright John Murrell, Taj combined poetry, music, theatre, and the Indian classical dance form kathak.[37] The production was described by The Globe and Mail critic Deirdre Kelly "as luminous and poignant as the building that inspired it".[38]

In the same year, Ray appeared in Craig Goodwill's award-winning[citation needed] fantasy drama film Patch Town, and a season 4 episode of Canadian Television period crime drama series Murdoch Mysteries, titled "The Black Hand".[citation needed]

She presented the 2011 IIFA Awards[39] in Toronto, and was a co-presenter the 2011 Giller Prize along with singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado and roots rock guitarist Robbie Robertson.[40]

Also in 2011, Ray appeared as host and travel guide on Oh My Gold, a five part series on Discovery Travel & Living, now TLC India.

In 2012, Ray began hosting season two of Top Chef Canada, Food Network Canada's highest rated series. The season premiered in March 2012.[9]

Speaking to The Telegraph in 2012, Ray remarked, "I think every film that I’ve done so far has been a turning point because I experimented with each one and grew professionally. The movies I chose, dealt with a lot of thought-provoking subjects.[41]

In 2016, Ray starred in Ram Gopal Varma's Veerappan.[42] She also played a crucial supporting role in 2017’s Dobaara, the official Bollywood adaptation of supernatural horror film Oculus.[43]

Since 2019, Ray has appeared as part of an ensemble cast in the Amazon Prime Video web series Four More Shots Please!.[44] After a successful first season aired in over 200 countries and regions, the series returned for a second season in 2020 and a third season in 2022.[45]

Personal life edit

On 23 June 2009, Ray was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the white blood cells known as plasma cells, which produce antibodies. It is a rare disease.[27][46] In April 2010, she announced that she was cancer-free, after an autologous stem cell transplant using her own stem cells.[47][48] As multiple myeloma is an incurable disease, Ray is not completely cured of the disease.[49]

In February 2012, Ray announced her engagement to management consultant Jason Dehni.[50] On 20 October 2012, Ray and Dehni (then a banking executive) were married in California's Napa Valley.[51]

In September 2018, Ray announced that she and her husband became parents to twin daughters via surrogacy, in June 2018.[52]

Filmography edit

Film edit

Year Title Role Notes
1994 Hanste Khelte Rekha Special appearance[53]
1996 Nethaji Priya Tamil film
2001 Yuvaraja Lovely Kannada film
Kasoor Simran Bhargav
2002 Choron Ka Chor
Takkari Donga Bhuvana Telugu film
Bollywood/Hollywood Sunita "Sue" Singh
2004 Ball & Chain Saima
2005 Water Kalyani
Seeking Fear Nina Atwal
2006 The Flowerman Louise Short film
Quarter Life Crisis Angel Matthews
A Stone's Throw Lia
2007 All Hat Etta Parr
I Can't Think Straight Tala
2008 Kill Kill Faster Faster Fleur
The World Unseen Miriam
Toronto Stories Beth
2009 Defendor Dominique Ball
Cooking with Stella Maya Chopra
Somnolence
2010 Let the Game Begin Eva Stout
Trader Games Sarah
2011 Patch Town Bethany Franks Short film
2016 Ishq Forever Naina
Veerappan Shreya
2017 Dobaara: See Your Evil Liza Merchant
2019 99 Songs Sheila

Television edit

Year Title Role Notes
2007 Blood Ties Elena "Stone Cold"
2008 The Summit Rebecca Downy
2009 Psych Sita "Bollywood Homicide" S04E06
2011 Murdoch Mysteries Mirela "The Black Hand"
Endgame Rosemary Venturi Regular role
2012–2014 Top Chef Canada Host Seasons 2–4
2019–2022 Four More Shots Please! Samara Kapoor Season 1–3

Philanthropy edit

  • 2009: 5K Your Way Walk/Run, MMWalk for the Cure
  • 2009: Plan Canada's 'Because I Am A Girl' campaign[54]
  • 2010: Plan Canada's 'Because I Am A Girl' campaign[54]
  • 2010: "1 a Minute", to inspire women and give them hope
  • 2010: Estee Lauder Breast Cancer Awareness[55]
  • 2011: 'Make Myeloma Matter' media campaign[56]
  • 2011: Artbound, in support of Free The Children
  • 2011: GIRL 20 SUMMIT
  • 2012: BE FAIR 2 RARE[57]
  • 2012: Wellspring Cancer 'Graduate' Fashion show
  • 2012: "Rhythm and Soul"-THE SPARK GALA 2012, to Ignite A Child's Potential[58]
  • 2012: Run or Walk, MM5K[59]
  • 2012: Plan Canada's 'Because I Am A Girl' campaign[54]
  • 2012: Ambassador for Pantene Beautiful Lengths campaign in Canada[60]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Lisa Ray Profile". worldfilm.about.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Review of "The World Unseen"". AfterEllen. 29 January 2008. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  3. ^ "A global actress reveals her private fight: An incurable cancer, a determined spirit". Archived from the original on 17 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  4. ^ "The Yellow Diaries". Lisa Ray. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  5. ^ Ray, Lisa (30 January 2015). "Whose water is it anyway, writes Lisa Ray". DNA India. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  6. ^ "Ray of Hope". Vogue India. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  7. ^ "Lisa Ray emerges 'enriched' from battle with cancer". Archived from the original on 21 March 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  8. ^ Bureau, Adgully. adgully.com https://web.archive.org/web/20191107074219/https://www.adgully.com/lisa-ray-to-show-her-quest-for-gold-tlc-launches-oh-my-gold-47079.html. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ^ a b "Television: Top Chef Canada's New Host". Shaw Media Inc. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  10. ^ ScoopWhoop (21 July 2016). "Lisa Ray Is Flirting With Poetry on Instagram & We Can't Have Enough of Her Beautiful Verses". scoopwhoop.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  11. ^ Patrick, Ryan B. (11 March 2019). "Why Canada Reads panellist Lisa Ray loves books with lyrical writing and poetic prose". CBC. Archived from the original on 6 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  12. ^ "Lisa Ray on Twitter". Archived from the original on 6 February 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  13. ^ a b Giese, Rachel (23 July 2007). "The thoroughly Canadian charm of Lisa Ray". Chatelaine. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
  14. ^ "Lisa Ray: Kolkata takes me on nostalgia lane". The Times of India. PTI. 24 September 2015. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  15. ^ a b Liam Lacey (12 September 2002). "Just a pinch of spice". The Globe and Mail. Canada. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  16. ^ a b Anand Sankar (30 July 2005). "A ray of hope for her". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2008.
  17. ^ Veenu Singh (23 November 2015). "We are put here to live and love fiercely, says Lisa Ray". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  18. ^ Ashwini Deshmukh (28 March 2009). "Lisa Ray 'bares it all'". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  19. ^ Sujata Assomull (14 November 1998). "My Den – Lisa Ray". Indian Express Newspapers. Archived from the original on 13 August 2009. Retrieved 18 November 2008.
  20. ^ Gulab, Rupa (30 June 2019). "Lid off Bollywood secrets, gritty cancer battle in Lisa's story". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  21. ^ a b "More Beautiful for Having Been Broken: Lisa Ray's journey through tragedy and fame". thenewsminute.com. 17 December 2016. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  22. ^ "Lisa Ray: My mom lost the ability to walk in a car accident. We had switched seats". India Today. Ist. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  23. ^ Assomull, Sujata. "My life is a split screen: Lisa Ray". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  24. ^ "How a Bollywood actress found strength while battling blood cancer". South China Morning Post. 27 January 2019. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  25. ^ "'I Can't Think Straight' Star Lisa Ray to Host 'Top Chef Canada'". pride.com. 8 February 2012. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  26. ^ Braun, Liz (7 November 2008). "Lisa Ray shines in the spotlight". Toronto Sun. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2008.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  27. ^ a b c P. Karthik (20 February 2008). "I'm loving it: Lisa Ray". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2008.
  28. ^ Hungama, Bollywood (2 February 2001). "Kasoor Review 2.5/5 | Kasoor Movie Review | Kasoor 2001 Public Review | Film Review". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  29. ^ a b c "Lisa Ray". Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  30. ^ Correspondent, Our Special (7 February 2000). "'Water' shooting stopped again, Mehta 'asked to leave Varanasi'". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  31. ^ Ebert, Roger. "Water movie review & film summary (2006) | Roger Ebert". rogerebert.com. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  32. ^ Billan, Rumeet; Professor, ContributorPresident Partner (30 August 2013). "Lisa Ray: A Story of Hope". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019. {{cite web}}: |first2= has generic name (help)
  33. ^ "Lisa Ray on the cover of The Man". PINKVILLA. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  34. ^ "Indian Star Rallies Celebrity Support For Cancer Movie". contactmusic.com. 8 October 2009. Archived from the original on 30 October 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  35. ^ "Lisa Ray to host Queen Elizabeth II - Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  36. ^ "Taj: more than a love story". CBC News. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  37. ^ BWW News Desk. "Sampradaya Dance Creations Performs the World Premiere of TAJ 10–12 June". BroadwayWorld.com. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  38. ^ Large, Critics at. "A Dance of Epic Proportions: Taj at Luminato". Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  39. ^ "Toronto lays out red carpet for IIFA bash". Rediff. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  40. ^ "Nelly Furtado, Jacob Hoggard, Ron MacLean, Lisa Ray, Robbie Robertson and Zaib Shaikh names as 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize Presenters". Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  41. ^ "The pursuit of happiness". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. 15 July 2012. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  42. ^ "Lisa Ray and Ram Gopal Varma unite to kill Veerappan - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 6 June 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  43. ^ D'Cunha, Suparna Dutt. "India Remakes Hollywood Hit 'Oculus' -- But Will It Reinvent The Bollywood Horror Game?". Forbes. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  44. ^ "Four More Shots Please! — Amazon Prime Video announces new women-centric comedy-drama series". Firstpost. 30 November 2018. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  45. ^ "Amazon Prime's Four More Shots Please! to Return with a Second Season". News18. 4 June 2019. Archived from the original on 25 September 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  46. ^ Denise Balkissoon (August 2006). "24 Hours with Lisa Ray". Toronto Life. Archived from the original on 28 May 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
  47. ^ Jill Sarjent (22 April 2010). "Actress Lisa Ray says she's cancer free". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 25 April 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  48. ^ Ray, Lisa (27 March 2015). "My message in a bottle, writes Lisa Ray". DNA India. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  49. ^ Kathakali Banerjee (16 June 2013). "My hubby's my secret weapon: Lisa Ray". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  50. ^ IANS (1 February 2012). "Actress Lisa Ray got engaged to banker Jason Dehni". Ibnlive. Archived from the original on 22 June 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  51. ^ "Lisa Ray to marry lover Jason Dehni in October". 3 June 2012. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013.
  52. ^ "Lisa Ray And Husband Jason Dehni Welcomes Twin Daughters Sufi and Soleil Via Surrogacy". Headlines Today. Archived from the original on 18 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  53. ^ "Too tempting". India Today. New Delhi: Living Media. 30 June 1994. Archived from the original on 24 November 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  54. ^ a b c "Because I am a Girl, Our Celebrated Ambassadors, Lisa Ray". Archived from the original on 4 October 2012.
  55. ^ "Lisa Ray Taj Mahal and Estee Lauder Breast Cancer Event". Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  56. ^ "Make Myeloma Matter (PSA)". 1 April 2011. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  57. ^ "Lisa Ray supports Be Fair 2 Rare". 28 February 2011. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013.
  58. ^ "Honourees Lisa". Retrieved 20 December 2016.[permanent dead link]
  59. ^ "Run or Walk-2012". Archived from the original on 12 August 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  60. ^ "Beautiful Lengths ambassador Lisa Ray". Archived from the original on 1 October 2012.

External links edit

 
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