Pooja Bedi was born in Bombay to the late Indian classical dancerProtima and film star Kabir Bedi. She was brought up in what she calls a bohemian progressive artistic environment. She received her basic education at Besant Montessori in Bombay and then at The Lawrence School, Sanawar. From 1991 to 1995, Bedi worked in Bollywood films, has appeared in many commercials and campaigns. She is remembered for the Kama Sutra condom campaign which she endorsed and used as a vehicle to raise awareness of AIDS. She appeared in plays such as Carry On Papa, Wow What a Girl and A Bengali Jatra. She made her film debut with Jag Mundhra's film Vishkanya. She went on to act in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander with Aamir Khan for which she earned a nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1993. Her other films include Lootere and Aatank Hi Aatank.
Breakthrough role and debut in reality shows (2006–2011)
In 2000, she compiled and edited Timepass, the memoirs of her mother Protima Bedi. She has been a columnist with the Times of India, the Hindustan Times, and MiD DAY newspapers, and has written articles for numerous publications, including L'officiel, Femina and The Week. In 2000, she had a public tiff with Amitabh Bachchan. In 2005, Bedi along with Hanif Hilal participated in Nach Baliye. In 2006, Bedi participated in Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa in its first season followed by . In 2011, Bedi was a celebrity contestant in the fifth season of the Indian version of the reality TV showBig Brother, Bigg Boss. She got evicted after surviving for 8 weeks in the house and got evicted on Day 56.
Personal life
Bedi married Farhan Ebrahim Furniturewala whom she met in 1990. She has two children, a daughter Alaya Furniturewala born in 1997 and son Omar Furniturewala, born in 2000. Bedi and Farhan divorced in 2003. In February 2019, Bedi got engaged to Maneck Contractor. Her daughter, Alaya made her Bollywood debut in January 2020 with comedy drama filmJawaani Jaaneman which also stars Saif Ali Khan & Tabu. During the Coronavirus pandemic in May 2020 she traveled From Mumbai which was highly infected to one of her homes in Goa which was a safe zone and created a ruckus on Social media regarding the quarantine facilities at the state. She also caused an outrage among the residents of Goa, by claiming to be a Goan.
