Born on July 12, 1986, Evelyn Sharma's birthplace is Frankfurt, Germany. She was born to a German mother and a Punjabi father and holds German citizenship. She came to India roughly in 2011, to find "a new side" to herself - a side which loves chai, parantha, biryani and movies. (All photos/Evelyn Sharma's official Instagram account)

"I was born into quite an interesting time. Father Indian, mother German, growing up in a German small town wasn't very easy. I hated to look different than everyone else and my own cultural backgrounds were confusing me to the point that it was hard to know my own identity," said Sharma in her blog.

Evelyn Sharma's Bollywood career started with a bit role in the 2012 film From Sydney With Love, where she played a foreigner. She went on to play a mix of 'desi' and 'videshi' parts in Nautanki Saala, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Issaq and Yaariyaan.

Her role as the sexy and glamorous Lara Handa, beauty without brains in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, caught Bollywood's 'No.1' comedy director David Dhawan's eye. He set his eyes on her for another such part in his film Main Tera Hero. But did you know, much before that she had featured in body lotion's ad? Click on the next slide to know more!

Evelyn Sharma shared this picture of her ad, co-featuring actor Ayaz Khan. She wrote in her caption, "Still my favourite ad... and my break into Bollywood! thank you #Marico #Parachute for giving me the chance to show my Indian roots to my lovely fans for the first time... almost a decade! It's been a beautiful ride ever since! This ad has always been close to my heart, and so has everyone who worked with me on it. #tbt"

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani opened many doors for Evelyn Sharma. David Dhawan is said to have spotted Evelyn during the final leg of casting for Main Tera Hero. When the shoot of the movie was about to begin, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani had hit theatres, and senior Dhawan loved Evelyn Sharma's work in it.

She speaks with an accent, but Evelyn Sharma's half-Indian and half-German lineage has given her an edge in the Hindi film industry which has warmed up to foreigners over the past few years. Sharma, earlier, had said being a "foreigner" in Bollywood has been a boon for her. Over the years, the globally popular Indian film industry has opened up to talented foreign beauties with open arms. Cases in point are Katrina Kaif (Britain), Jacqueline Fernandez (Sri Lanka), Nargis Fakhri (US), Elena Kazan (Russia-born German), Elli Avram (Sweden), Lauren Gottlieb (US), Hazel Keech (Britain) and Kristina Akheeva (Russia).

In fact, this flexibility has opened more doors for the 23-year-old, who turned to acting after a stint in modelling for Britain-based brands. Anupam Kher, who trains students at his institute Actor Prepares, gave Evelyn acting advice and even helped her to improve her spoken Hindi, while shooting for Main Tera Hero. This inspired Evelyn to become more serious about the need to brush up her Hindi speaking skills.

Evelyn Sharma never shied away from exposing on-screen -- whether it was donning a bikini in the song Sunny Sunny from the 2014 film Yaariyan or her "sexy" role as Lara in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. But in real life, Evelyn calls herself a "simple girl".

"Wearing a bikini for 'Sunny sunny' was not to show skin, but to swim in the ocean. Of course, it looks nice too, and why not flaunt it if you have a sexy body? As for myself, I'm a simple girl from a small town in Germany. I was never called 'sexy' or 'glamorous' until my role of Lara. So all credit for my new found sex appeal goes to Ayan Mukerji and Karan Johar, who cast me in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani," Evelyn said.

In 2019, Evelyn Sharma became the proud owner of a home in Mumbai. The actress took to social media to share a few pictures of herself cutting a ribbon to her home and signing some papers. She wrote, "I have cut a lot of ribbons in my life... but none has ever been as special as the one to my own home! Thank you, to my 10 years in #Bollywood and this incredible journey that enabled me to fulfil this life long dream to buy a beautiful flat, and that too in Mumbai!"

Other than appearing in few item songs and brand endorsements, Evelyn Sharma went on to bag films such as Jab Harry Met Sejal, Jack and Dil, and Saaho, being the latest one.

On the personal front, Evelyn Sharma got engaged to her Australia-based boyfriend, Tushaan Bhindi on October 5, 2019. The beau proposed to Evelyn in a perfect dreamy manner, where they exchanged rings on the renowned Harbour Bridge of Sydney.

Speaking about how they met, Evelyn Sharma said, "We met on a blind date in 2018, which was set up by our good friend. Tushaan is a romantic guy and he's even more filmy than I am."

Evelyn Sharma's new house in Andheri will be her Mumbai base with fiance Tushaan Bhindi after they get married. Tushaan is an Australia-based dental surgeon and entrepreneur.

Evelyn Sharma has come a long way! Here's wishing good luck to the actress and a belated happy birthday.