Freida Pinto facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Freida Pinto
Pinto in 2014
Born	Freida Selena Pinto (1984-10-18) 18 October 1984 (age 40) Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Alma mater	St. Xavier's College, Mumbai
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2005–present
Spouse(s)	Cory Tran ​ (m. 2020)​
Children	1

Freida Selena Pinto (born October 18, 1984) is a famous actress from India. She has starred in many movies, mostly in America and Britain. Freida grew up in Mumbai, Maharashtra, and decided she wanted to be an actress when she was very young.

While studying at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, she acted in school plays. After finishing college, she worked as a model for a short time. She also hosted a TV show before becoming a movie star.

Freida became well-known after her first movie, Slumdog Millionaire (2008). For this role, she won a special award called a SAG Award. She was also nominated for a BAFTA Award. She received praise for her acting in films like Miral (2010) and Trishna (2011). Freida also appeared in big movies like Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) and Immortals (2011).

Besides acting, Freida Pinto also works to help people and support important causes.

Freida Pinto's Early Life

Freida Pinto was born on October 18, 1984, in Bombay (now called Mumbai) in Maharashtra, India. Her parents are from Mangalore, Karnataka. Her mother, Sylvia Pinto, was a school principal. Her father, Frederick Pinto, worked as a bank manager. Freida also has an older sister named Sharon.

Freida grew up in a middle-class family in North Mumbai. She first dreamed of becoming an actress when she was just five years old. She loved to dress up and pretend to be TV actors. She was especially inspired by Sushmita Sen, who won the Miss Universe competition in 1994. Freida thought, "One day, I want to do the same."

She went to Carmel of St. Joseph School and then St. Xavier's College, Mumbai. She studied English literature, along with psychology and economics. In college, she joined amateur theater groups. However, she waited until she graduated in 2005 before taking on acting or modeling jobs.

Even though she loved acting, Freida wasn't sure about her career path until she watched the movie Monster (2003) in college. She realized she wanted to do something similar, something that would let her completely change into a character.

In 2005, Freida started modeling with Elite Model Management India. She worked with them for two and a half years. During this time, she appeared in many TV and print ads for popular brands.

Around the same time, Freida began trying out for movies and TV shows. She was chosen to host Full Circle, a travel show that took her to countries like Afghanistan, Malaysia, and Thailand. She tried out for many roles, including a Bollywood movie and a Bond girl role, but didn't get them. Freida later said that these rejections were good learning experiences. She learned that it's part of the journey and that eventually, the right role would come along.

Freida's Acting Journey

Becoming a Star with Slumdog Millionaire

Pinto with the crew of Slumdog Millionaire at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival

In 2007, Freida's modeling agency helped her get an audition for Danny Boyle's movie Slumdog Millionaire (2008). After six months of auditions, Freida won the role of Latika. She played the love interest of the main character, Jamal, who was played by Dev Patel.

Before the movie was finished, Freida took an acting course in Mumbai. She said that the best acting school for her was the six months of auditions with Danny Boyle. Slumdog Millionaire became a huge success around the world. It won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Freida won the Breakthrough Performance Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. She also won a SAG Award with the other actors in the film. She was also nominated for a BAFTA Award.

After Slumdog Millionaire, Freida took on two more artistic films. She appeared in Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010). She played a mysterious woman who catches the eye of a character played by Josh Brolin.

Pinto (left) and Rula Jebreal at the screening of Miral in October 2010

Then, Freida starred in Miral (2010). In this movie, she played an orphaned Palestinian woman who grew up in a refugee camp. To prepare for the role, Freida visited real refugee camps. She felt she could connect with her character's experiences because her own relatives had gone through difficult times during the partition of India.

More Film Roles (2011–2018)

In 2011, Freida had four new movies released. One of them was the science fiction film Rise of the Planet of the Apes. She played Caroline Aranha, a scientist who studies apes. To get ready for this role, she learned about the work of famous anthropologist Jane Goodall. This movie earned a lot of money worldwide and is still her highest-grossing film.

Freida also played the main character in Trishna. This film was based on a famous book. Freida played a teenage girl from a village in India who leaves her family to work for a hotelier. Critics praised her performance in this role.

Pinto at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival

Her other films in 2011 included Day of the Falcon, a historical drama, and Immortals, a fantasy action film. In Immortals, she played Phaedra, an oracle priestess. This movie also did very well at the box office.

After 2011, Freida didn't have any new movies for two years. In 2013, she appeared in a music video for Bruno Mars' song "Gorilla". That same year, Freida was one of the narrators for the documentary film Girl Rising. This film was part of a campaign to help girls around the world get an education.

In 2014, Freida starred in Desert Dancer, a true story about an Iranian dancer. For this role, she had to practice dancing for eight hours a day, five days a week, for 14 weeks!

Freida's first film in 2015 was Knight of Cups. She played Helen, a model. She talked about how interesting it was to act without a script, saying it felt "fun and liberating." She also narrated Unity (2015), a documentary about the connections between all living things on Earth. Her third movie that year was Blunt Force Trauma. In 2018, Freida played Mowgli's adoptive mother, Messua, in the movie Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, based on The Jungle Book.

Recent Work (2019–Present)

In November 2020, Freida appeared in the Netflix movie Hillbilly Elegy. She played Usha Vance in this film. In 2021, it was announced that Freida would play the main role in a movie about Noor Inayat Khan, a real-life spy from World War II.

Helping Others

Freida Pinto is very active in helping people and supporting good causes. She cares a lot about helping women and children who are not as lucky as others. She has said that Angelina Jolie and Malala Yousafzai are big inspirations for her.

In 2010, Freida joined tennis stars Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf to support their charity, the Agassi Foundation. She helped raise $75,000 to provide education for children who need it. Two years later, she became a global ambassador for Plan International's "Because I am a Girl" campaign. This campaign works to promote gender equality and help millions of girls escape poverty.

In 2013, Freida appeared in a video for Gucci's "Chime for Change" campaign. This campaign raises money and awareness for women's issues, focusing on education, health, and justice.

In February 2016, Freida announced that she would be part of a new non-profit organization called "We Do It Together." This group helps fund movies, documentaries, and TV shows that focus on empowering women.

Freida's Personal Life

Before she started her acting career, Freida was engaged to Rohan Antao. She ended that relationship in 2009. Then, she started dating her Slumdog Millionaire co-star, Dev Patel. They were together for six years before they separated in 2014.

Freida became engaged to photographer Cory Tran in November 2019. They got married in 2020. In November 2021, Freida and Cory welcomed their son.

After the success of Slumdog Millionaire, Freida spent her time living in Mumbai, London, and Los Angeles. As of 2015, she lives in Los Angeles.

Filmography

Film

Key

Denotes upcoming films

Television

Music video appearances

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Freida Pinto para niños