Shamita Shetty: Have you seen these candid pictures of Mohabbatein actress?

Born on February 2, 1979, Shamita Shetty comes from a traditional close-knit family that hails from the Bunt community of Udupi. The Shetty girl is a complete Mumbai girl. She studied at St Anthony's Girls High School and did her graduation from Sydenham College in Mumbai. Later did a fashion designing diploma from SNDT college Mumbai.

Pictured: Neha Dhupia and Shamita Shetty attend a fashion show to launch European brand Vero Moda in Mumbai on May 8, 2010. (Pic/AFP)

Do you know Shamita Shetty did an internship with designer Manish Malhotra? 

While interning with Manish Malhotra, the ace designer suggested Shamita Shetty take up acting as her career. In 2000, Shamita made her film debut with Aditya Chopra's directorial Mohabbatein but worked in few films since then.

Pictured: (L to R) Shilpa Shetty, Surendra Shetty and Shamita Shetty.

In 2002, Shamita Shetty made her Tamil debut with Raajjiyam, however, the film bombed at the Box Office and did no good to her career.

Pictured: Shilpa Shetty Kundra (L) and Shamita Shetty perform at the 'Umang Mumbai Police Show 2017' in Mumbai on January 21, 2017.

In 2003, Shamita Shetty made her Telugu debut with the film Pilisthe Palukutha, which too failed to do wonders at the Box Office.

Pictured: Shamita Shetty at GQ India's Best Dressed Men of 2017 event in Mumbai on June 3, 2017. (Pic/AFP)

Though in the meanwhile, Shamita Shetty made special appearances in songs such as 'Chori Pe Chori' from Saathiya (2002) and 'Sharara Sharara' from Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai (2002).

After failed attempts in down south, Shamita Shetty starred in a bunch of Bollywood films back-to-back from 2004 to 2007. However, most failed at the Box Office.

Shamita Shetty featured in films such as Agnipankh, Fareb, Zeher, Bewafaa, Mohabbat Ho Gayi Hai Tumse and Cash. Except for Zeher, which turned out to be a money-spinners of sorts at the Box Office, none of the above films could save Shamita's dooming career.

Asked if she is very picky about her work as in a decade-long career, she was rarely seen on the big screen, Shamita told in an interview earlier, "I have not done that many roles. I have not been a part of that many films for a while. There is a lot that I would like to do... Maybe I have said no so much that eventually worked stopped coming to me but I never stress on quantity."

She further added, "For me, quality matters. You are taking out time from your life to do something that you love and you should be happy doing it. I don't want to do a film just for the sake of it. For me, I guess, I just had to pick the best from what came to me."

Shamita Shetty also tried her hands on small screen industry. She featured in reality TV shows like 'Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa (season 8)' and 'Bigg Boss 3', but not in a fiction soap.

In 2017, Shamita Shetty made her debut in the digital world with the web-series Yo Ke Hua Bro. It was a five-part comedy web series, and also featured actors Aparshakti Khurana, Gaurav Pandey and Ridhima Pandit.

When Shamita left her acting career, she also tried her hands at interior designing. "Interior designing is something that naturally happened to me... I just happened to do interiors of a night club and I did it with no technical knowledge... That's when I decided when I am doing something... I would want to be technically sound with what I do," Shamita told in an inteview.

Shamita Shetty went abroad to study the subject, came back and then worked with an architect for a year.

"Then I started my own business. But that did keep me really busy. Interiors is something that takes a 100 per cent of your time," she added. Shamita said once she got into the celebrity dance-based reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, interior designing took a back seat.

Shamita Shetty, who has had a short stint in the Hindi film industry, had also confessed once that she made many choices she could have avoided. 

Her Bollywood career never took off and when asked if she has any regrets in making some decisions regarding her career, Shamita Shetty said, "I have made many decisions that I probably shouldn't have made, but life is about making mistakes, learning and moving on. Growing and learning from your experiences - and that is the way I have taken it."

On the personal front, Shamita Shetty is close to her mother Sunanda Shetty and sister Shilpa Shetty. Shilpa and Shamita lost their father Surendra Shetty in 2016 after a prolonged illness. In an old interview, Shamita Shetty said that she has no qualms on being single and marriage is not a priority for her.

Here's wishing Shamita Shetty a very happy birthday!