Celina Jaitly

Early life

Jaitly was born in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India to a Punjabi Hindu father, Colonel Vikram Kumar Jaitly and a Christian mother, Meeta Francis who was a professor of psychology and literature. Her maternal grandfather, Colonel Eric Francis served in the Rajputana Rifles of the Indian Army. Her maternal grandmother Usha belonged to a Punjabi Christian family, and also was a second-generation Afghan-Indian through her Afghan Hindu grandmother.

She wanted to grow up and join the army just like her father, either as a pilot or a doctor. Most of her childhood was spent in different locations due to her father being transferred in cities and towns all over India – as a result she ended up studying in over a dozen different schools. She attended City Montessori School, Station Road, Lucknow and Canossa Convent School, Ranikhet while her family was in respective cities. She graduated with a degree in Commerce with Accountancy (Hons.) from IGNOU (Khallikote College study centre) while her stay in Brahmapur, Odisha. Her mother taught in the DePaul School there. After graduation, Jaitly worked in a cell phone company in Kolkata, West Bengal briefly as a marketing executive. The family is now settled in Mhow.

Career

2001–04: Debut and setback

Jaitly started her career with a marketing job in a mobile phone company in Kolkata before she decided to participate in a local beauty contest. She won the title at Femina Miss India 2001. She also won the Miss Margo Beautiful Skin, Indiatimes Surfer's Choice, and MTV's Most Wanted award. She was subsequently sent to the Miss Universe 2001 contest representing India where she finished 4th runner-up.

In 2001, she featured in Jazzy B's music video of "Oh Kehri", which was immensely popular. She also featured in music videos for Bombay Vikings.

In 2003, she made her film debut in Feroz Khan's Janasheen. The movie was a moderate box office success in India. For her second release, she had a starring role opposite Sunny Deol in the romantic action Khel, but the feature was poorly received and earned little at the box office.

In 2004, Jaitly turned down the lead role in Julie. In an interview with Stardust, Jaitly commented: "I turned down Julie because I didn't agree with the reasoning of the protagonist in the story, who resorts to prostitution because her man ditches her. I didn't see why any educated girl would take such a drastic step. I take up roles that I mentally agree with, and this was not such a role". The same years Celina appeared in the Telugu drama Suryam opposite Vishnu Manchu.

2005–08: Professional expansion

By 2005, under the direction of Khalid Mohamed, Jaitly played the role of Preeti, an air hostess, in Silsiilay. The movie was well received by critics. Rediff.com reported that "Celina Jaitly sizzles in the song Belibaas". She next portrayed the character of Sanjana in No Entry, the film was received favourably by critics and became successful at the box office with gross earnings of .

The following year, Jaitly co-starred in Deepak Tijori's comedy Tom, Dick, and Harry. The film became successful at the box office with gross earnings of . She next appeared in Apna Sapna Money Money, directed by Sangeeth. It received mixed reviews, though it became a financial success, with a domestic total of . In 2006, Jaitly appeared in the music video for the Indian hit song "Zara Nazron Se Kehdo" performed by Bombay Vikings with Swedish music producers Soundism behind the studio work.

In 2007, Jaitly starred in Red: The Dark Side, directed by Vikram Bhatt, alongside Aftab Shivdasani. Her final release of 2007 was Suneel Darshan's comedy Shakalaka Boom Boom, with Bobby Deol, Upen Patel and Kangana Ranaut. Upon release it did moderately well at the box office but was critically panned.

In 2008, she took a supporting role in Golmaal Returns. It received mixed reviews, though it became a financial success, with a domestic total of . Jaitly's performance was applauded, with critic Taran Adarsh writing: "Celina stays on your mind even after the show is over".

Recent works (2009–present)

During 2009 and 2010, all three films in which she starred; Paying Guests, Accident on Hill Road and Hello Darling, were critically and commercially unsuccessful.

In 2011, Jaitly had two leading roles. Her first was Anees Bazmee's Thank You, a romantic comedy. The film was poorly received by critics but became a commercial success, earning over . She next appeared in Shrimathi, a Kannada film directed by Ravi Kumar. It proved a commercial success.

There were reports in 2011 that Jaitly was slated to play a Persian princess in the film Quest of Scheherezade with actors Sean Connery and Orlando Bloom, and directed by Ken Khan.

Personal life

Celina Jaitly is married to Austrian entrepreneur and hotelier Peter Haag. They became parents to twin boys born in March 2012. Jaitly gave birth to a second set of twin boys in 2017, one of whom died due to a heart defect.

Jaitly's brother Major (Retd.) Vikrant Jaitly, a retired Indian Army officer, was detained in the United Arab Emirates in connection with an alleged matter of national security in September 2024. This prompted Jaitly to approach the Delhi High Court resulting in the court, in November 2025, directing the Indian Ministry of External Affairs to extend legal assistance to Jaitly's brother.

In November 2025, Jaitly filed a case under the Domestic Violence Act, in a Mumbai court alleging domestic violence from her husband. Jaitly has reportedly made a claim of 50 crore (5,558,920) towards the damages, 10 lakh (11,118) per month towards maintenance and custody of their children. The damages claimed are towards the loss of her income, damage to her properties and impact of the abuse which she alleged to be emotional, physical, sexual and verbal in nature.

Philanthropy

Jaitly is a supporter of the rights and equality of the LGBTQ community and supports the gay rights movement in India. She has also been involved in activities concerning human rights and women's rights.

Jaitly was a proponent of the abolition of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which criminalized homosexuality in India until the 2018 ruling of the Supreme Court of India. In 2014, Jaitly made her singing debut in a music video on gay rights. The video titled "The Welcome" was launched by the UN in April 2014 as a campaign against homophobia.

Media image

In the Times Most Desirable Women list, Jaitly was placed 18th in 2009 and 48th in 2010. Jaitly has been a celebrity endorser for several brands such as Sepang Circuit Malaysia 2002, Ayur (ayurvedic hair shampoos) 2002–2004, Ponds (Dreamflower talc) 2001–2004, Margo (skin soap) 2001–2003, Gitanjali (Diamond jewels) 2003–present, Jashn (Leading Indian apparels) 2006–present, Proactv (International skin solutions) 2008–present, RICHFEEL (trichology clinics) 2012–present, 18 Again (women's intimate care) 2012–present, PETA 2005–present, United Nations Equality Champions 2013–present.

Filmography

Films

References

References

1. Webonautics. "Celina Jaitly (Actress) – Official website – celinajaitlyofficial.com". celinajaitlyofficial.com.
2. (25 November 2008). "I am unlucky in love: Celina". The Hindu.
3. Gavin Rasquinha, Reagan. (19 November 2006). "On your guard". The Times of India.
4. "Miss Universe Pageant Palace – Where the Miss Universe Really Reigns!".
5. "Celina Jaitley Movies and Shows - Apple TV".
6. Jaitly, Celina. (4 November 2009). "x I was not born in kabul .. i was born in shimla .. mum is afghan though .. 3 rd gen indian-afghan :)".
7. Khan, Mohd Salman. (8 November 2012). "Film production's tougher than acting: Celina Jaitley". The Times of India.
8. (13 June 2018). "Celina Jaitly's mom loses battle against cancer, actor shares a touching note".
9. (26 July 2025). "Celina Jaitley Pays Heartfelt Tribute to Her Soldier Father on Kargil Vijay Diwas".
10. (12 May 2025). "Celina Jaitly Says Her Father Vikram Kumar Was "Critically Wounded" During The 1971 War: "He Lost Complete Hearing"".
11. (19 June 2025). "Celina Jaitley Recalls Rare Pregnancy Condition That Almost Took Her Babies: 'I Was Terrified'".
12. "My great grandfather's mother (from my maternal side) was a beautiful Afghan refugee from an affluent family escaping protection from oppression. In India she got the opportunity to excel in the field of medicine until her journey ended while giving birth to twins. Her legacy runs within my blood with great fondness for my Afghan lineage that comes from her. My fondness for the country and love for {{as written".
13. "Lahore 1890's".
14. Vajir Singh and Hiren Kotwani. (14 August 2008). "Bollywood beauties chant I-Day mantra". [[Hindustan Times]].
15. "About".
16. (10 December 2002). "Celina Jaitley". [[The Times of India]].
17. "Celina Jaitly's father passes away due to prolonged illness".
18. "Celina Jaitley: Miss India Universe 2001 {{!}} Page 3".
19. Bhandari, Geetika Sasan. (15 September 2001). "How ice hockey made Jaswinder into Jazzy". [[The Times of India]].
20. "Celina Jaitly". The Times of India.
21. (14 July 2008). "The whole world knows members: Celina Jaitley". Sify.com.
22. "Janasheen - Starring Fardeen Khan, Celina Jaitley, Feroz Khan. Janasheen's box office, news, reviews, video, pictures, and music soundtrack".
23. "The game that never began". Rediff.com.
24. "Silsiilay: Women's lib, anyone?". Rediff.com.
25. "No Entry – Starring Anil Kapoor, Salman Khan, Fardeen Khan, Bipasha Basu, Esha Deol, Lara Dutta, Celina Jaitley. No Entry's box office, news, reviews, video, pictures, and music soundtrack".
26. "Tom Dick and Harry – Starring Dino Morea, Jimmy Shergill, Anuj Sawhney, Celina Jaitley, Kim Sharma, Avtar Gill, Rakesh Bedi, Shakti Kapoor, Gulshan Grover. Tom Dick and Harry's box office, news, reviews, video, pictures, and music soundtrack".
27. "Ritesh rescues Apna Sapna Money Money". Rediff.com.
28. "Apna Sapna Money Money – Starring Jackie Shroff, Sunil Shetty, Ritesh Deshmukh, Riya Sen, Celina Jaitley, Koena Mitra, Chunky Pandey, Rajpal Yadav, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Payal Rohatgi, Bobby Darling, Sunil Pal, Avtar Gill, Vrajesh Hirjee, Sanjay Mishra, Vijay Patkar. Apna Sapna Money Money's box office, news, reviews, video, pictures, and music soundtrack".
29. (13 March 2019). "Bombay Vikings 'Zara Nazron Se Kehdo' is Number 3 on India Chart". soundism.com.
30. "Shakalaka Boom Boom – Starring Bobby Deol, Upen Patel, Celina Jaitley, Kangna Ranaut, Asrani, Anupam Kher, Dilip Tahil, Seema Rahmani, Govind Namdeo, Vivek Vaswani, Panchali Gupta, Nikhil Patil. Shakalaka Boom Boom's box office, news, reviews, video, pictures, and music soundtrack".
31. "Golmaal Returns – Starring Ajay Devgan, Arshad Warsi, Kareena Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade, Tusshar Kapoor, Anjana Sukhani, Amrita Arora, Celina Jaitley. Golmaal Returns's box office, news, reviews, video, pictures, and music soundtrack".
32. Bollywood Hungama. (29 October 2008). "Golmaal Returns". bollywoodhungama.com.
33. "Box-Office Report: Paying Guests doesn't payback. Hopes shifted to New York". The Times of India.
34. "Archived copy".
35. "Thank You Movie Review". The Times of India.
36. "Review: SRIMATHI – Sandalwood News & Gossips". Bharatstudent.
37. "Celina Jaitly and Sean Connery, Will They Team Up". Pamil-visions.net.
38. (9 January 2011). "Celina to tie the knot in Egypt". [[The Times of India]].
39. (1 October 2017). "Celina Jaitly welcomes her second set of twins but the announcement is "bittersweet"".
40. (2025-11-04). "Actress Celina Jaitly’s brother detained in UAE for a year, Delhi HC directs Centre to provide him legal aid".
41. (2025-11-23). "Celina Jaitly remembers ‘final’ call with brother detained in UAE: ‘More pain than words’".
42. "What happened to Major (Retd.) Vikrant Jaitly, brother of actress Celina Jaitly".
43. (2025-11-25). "Actor Celina Jaitly alleges domestic violence from husband Peter Haag".
44. (2025-11-25). "Celina Jaitly vows to 'show no mercy after being wronged' in first statement on divorce, domestic abuse case on husband".
45. (2025-11-25). "Celina Jaitly files Rs 50 crore domestic violence case from husband Peter Haag in Mumbai court".
46. (5 May 2014). "UN / CELINA JAITLEY". UNifeed.
47. Chen May Yee. (27 May 2014). "A Gay Film Festival in India Strikes a Chord". The New York Times.
48. (17 January 2020). "I am Generation Equality: Celina Jaitly, actor and activist". UN Women.
49. José Ignacio Martín Galán. (26 February 2024). "Celina Jaitly: "Each ally for the rights of LGBTIQ+ people can positively impact someone´s entire life. Wouldn´t you want to be that person? "". UN Free & Equal.
50. "Supreme Court Scraps Section 377; 'Majoritarian Views Cannot Dictate Rights,' Says CJI".
51. "2009 Most Desirable Women: Sushmita Sen - No 13".
52. "Times 50 Most Desirable Women". The Times of India.
53. (6 October 2004). "No Entry is no remake of Masti". Bollywood Hungama.
54. "Celina Jaitley goes de-glam". The Times of India.
55. (14 April 2020). "Bollywood's Celina Jaitly reveals battle with depression".
56. (8 August 2019). "Season's Greetings becomes India's first feature film to collaborate with UN".
57. Karki, Tripti. (14 April 2020). "Celina Jaitly on Season's Greetings: My mother's last wish was to see me back in films".