Kamal Sidhu (born February 24, 1968) is a Canadian
model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a mea ...
, VJ, TV anchor and actress. She won the
Miss India–Canada title in 1991,
she has a successful career as presenter and show host.
Early life
Sidhu was born in an Indian
Sikh
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
family who lived in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, where she stayed till the age of six. Later they moved to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, where she was raised and educated.
She has a university degree in
pre-medical
Pre-medical (often referred to as pre-med) is an educational track that undergraduate students in the United States pursue prior to becoming medical students. It involves activities that prepare a student for medical school, such as pre-med course ...
. She is fluent in
Tagalog,
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,
Punjabi and
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
.
Career
Prior to being in TV shows and in the modeling industry, Sidhu was an athlete, training to compete at the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, representing Canada in the
heptathlon
A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...
.
An unfortunate injury abruptly ended her dreams and made her to pursue other avenues. She was advised by a cousin, and consequently entered the Miss India-Canada contest in 1991, to which she won first runner-up.
In
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, she started her career with
Channel V
Channel '' ("V" standing for the letter, not the Roman numeral "5") is a Chinese and former Asian pay television musical network originally launched by Star TV Hong Kong (now Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific). It was part of the unit of Disney ...
and later
MTV Asia
MTV was a pan-Asian music pay-television channel which launched on 3 May 1995 as a standalone pay television channel. It was owned by Paramount Networks EMEAA.
History
MTV Asia was officially launched on 3 May 1995 as a 24-hour English-languag ...
. She also worked with channel
AXN
AXN is a pay television channel owned by Sony Pictures Television, which was first launched in September 1997 in Asia. Local versions have since been launched in several parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Funded th ...
in this same country.
One of the first few 'Indian' VJs, Sidhu and her
Canadian accent
Canadian English (CanE, CE, en-CA) encompasses the varieties of English native to Canada. According to the 2016 census, English was the first language of 19.4 million Canadians or 58.1% of the total population; the remainder spoke French ( ...
were hugely popular with the teen population, many imitating her style of dress, hair and talking.
She hosted an adult show on sex lives on
Zoom TV and anchored an environmental series called ''EarthPulse'' on
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television television network, network and flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel owned by the National Geograp ...
. She presented the Rio Games in August 2016 on Star Sports channel in her brief return to where it all started - STAR TV NETWORK.
Personal life
Kamal Sidhu was in a relationship with erstwhile MTV and Channel V VJ, Danny McGill, during the 1990s. She is married to Nico Ghogavala, owner of B.A.R company.
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sidhu, Kamal
1971 births
Living people
Canadian film actresses
Canadian female models
Canadian VJs (media personalities)
Indian emigrants to Canada
Canadian people of Punjabi descent
Canadian actresses of Indian descent
Female models of Indian descent
Canadian expatriate actresses in India
Actresses in Hindi cinema
Canadian Sikhs
Canadian heptathletes
20th-century Canadian actresses
21st-century Canadian actresses