Genelia D'Souza, Mother-To-Be at 27

Bollywood actress Genelia D'Souza, who is expecting her first child, has more than one reason to celebrate this year. Her husband Riteish Deshmukh is clearly basking in the glory of back-to-back successes Ek Villain and Lai Bhaari, his Marathi debut as an actor. The actor also won National Award for his Marathi venture Yellow earlier this year.

Genelia, who has also positioned herself well since her debut in Bollywood in 2003, celebrates her 27th birthday today. Here is a look at her Bollywood journey.

Genelia D'Souza was born on August 5, 1987 in Mumbai to Jeanette D'Souza and Neil D'Souza. She studied in Apostolic Carmel High School and graduated in Management Studies from St Andrew's College. Genelia is a national level football player and a state level athlete and sprinter.

Genelia got her first modelling break at the age of 15 when she appeared with Amitabh Bachchan in a Parker Pen commercial. She also featured in a Fair and Lovely advertisement alongside former cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth.

Genelia's debut film was Vijaya Bhaskar's Tujhe Meri Kasam (2003) opposite Riteish Deshmukh, whom she went on to marry in 2012. The movie didn't do too well at the box office and Genelia moved down South where she delivered some critically acclaimed performances.

Down South, Genelia made her debut with the 2003 Tamil hit film Boys and there was no looking back for the actress.

In 2004, Genelia was seen in a cameo in the movie Masti but that year she was more noted for her southern films Samba and Sye.

Genelia's performance in southern films like Bomarillu, for which she won the Telugu Filmfare Award for Best Actress in 2006, and Tamil film Santosh Subramaniam in 2008 were singled out for praise.

It was the film Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na (2008) opposite Imran Khan that turned out to be the hit she was looking for and made Genelia a bona-fide Bollywood star.

Genelia's next two Bollywood films Life Partner (2009) and Chance Pe Dance(2010) turned out to be box office duds, although she was admired for her role in Telugu film Katha (2009), which fetched her a Nandi Special Jury Award.

In 2011, Genelia featured in the Malayalam film Urumi for which she underwent rigorous training in sword fighting and martial arts.

In Bollywood, Genelia featured opposite John Abraham in the film Force (2011) which received mixed reviews.

Genelia married her longtime boyfriend and Bollywood actor Riteish Deshmukh on February 3, 2012, eight years after they started dating. Their's was Bollywood's first big wedding of 2012. They had a Marathi ceremony followed by a less-publicised church wedding.

Genelia was last seen in the film Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya in 2012 with her husband Ritiesh Deshmukh.

Apart from films, Genelia has been the brand ambassador for multiple brands including Fanta, Perk, Virgin Mobile India and Garnier.

The actress, who also holds the Limca world record for delivering four hits in four different languages in one year, is all set to welcome a bundle of joy.

Here's wishing the actress a very happy birthday.