Lisa Ray

Lisa Ray (born Lisa Rani Ray on 4 April 1972) is a Canadian actress and former supermodel whose career spans over three decades across continents. Born in Toronto to an Indian Bengali Hindu father and a Polish Catholic mother, she spent parts of her childhood in Etobicoke and Calcutta, absorbing cinema from Fellini to Satyajit Ray. Discovered on a family vacation to India as a teenager, she quickly rose to fame after a striking Bombay Dyeing swimsuit advertisement and an iconic Gladrags cover that made her one of the first Indian super‑models. She became the face of Lakmé, L’Oréal, MasterCard and De Beers, and was even voted the “ninth most beautiful woman of the millennium” by a Times of India poll. While modelling, she co‑anchored TV shows, appeared in music videos and navigated personal tragedy when a car accident left her mother wheelchair‑bound, a pain she later described as a catalyst for her artistic choices.

Transitioning to acting, Ray debuted in the 1994 Hindi film Hanste Khelte and later earned international acclaim for Deepa Mehta’s Oscar‑nominated Water (2005), where she delivered a Hindi performance later dubbed for the final cut. Her filmography includes the award‑winning South African drama The World Unseen, the queer‑themed I Can’t Think Straight, and the comedic Cooking with Stella. In 2009 she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, underwent a stem‑cell transplant, and emerged as a vocal advocate for cancer awareness, penning The Yellow Diaries and speaking at global fundraisers. Ray later hosted Discovery Channel India’s travel series, judged Top Chef Canada, and starred in the Amazon series Four More Shots Please!. She married management consultant Jason Dehni in 2012 and welcomed twin daughters via surrogacy in 2018, balancing motherhood with her continued work in film, television and philanthropy.