Lisa Ray

LISA RAY

Date of Birth: April 4, 1970

Born in Toronto, Lisa Ray is of Polish and Indian heritage. During her final year in high school, she was approached to model for a fashion magazine. She ended up on the cover, and began a modeling career that lasted several years. She was eventually noticed by Indian filmmakers and made her acting debut in the Hindi language film Kasoor (2001). The next year, she made another Indian film, Takkari Donga (2002) and her first English language film, Deepa Mehta's Bollywood Hollywood, filmed in the Toronto area. As a result, she was voted 'Star of the Future' at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival.

She then shot the romantic comedy Arrangement (2004) in Austin, Texas. Soon after the film wrapped, Lisa decided to get some acting training and moved to London to study at The Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, graduating in September 2004.

Director Deepa Mehta asked Lisa to star in her musical drama, Water (2005), and since then Lisa has also worked on the Canadian film Seeking Fear (2005), her first project without an Indian theme. She has also completed a role in Quarterlife Crisis (2006), filmed in New York City.

Several years later, Lisa once again worked with Deepha Mehta, when she played a starring role in the comedy drama Cooking with Stella (2009), which Mehta co-wrote with her brother, Dilip Mehta.

Also in 2009, Lisa was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. After undergoing a stem cell transplant, in April 2010, she announced she was cancer free, but she still has to keep on top of the condition as multiple myeloma is incurable.

In 2010, she played Rosemary Venturi on the Showcase TV drama Endgame, followed by roles in several Hindi movies.

Most recently, she played Samara Kapoor on the Amazon Prime series Four More Shots Please (2019).

Lisa, who is based in Toronto and Los Angeles, married Jason Dehni in 2012. They have twin daughters.

Filmography:

Let the Game Begin (2010)
Cooking with Stella (2010)
Defendor (2010)
Somnolence (2009)
Kill Kill Faster Faster (2008)
The World Unseen (2007)
All Hat (2007)
I Can't Think Straight (2007)
A Stone's Throw (2006)
Quarter Life Crisis (2006)
Seeking Fear (2005)
Water (2005)
Arrangement (2004)
Bollywood/Hollywood (2002)
Takkari Donga (2002)
Kasoor (2001)