Lisa Rani Ray (born 4 April 1972) is a Canadian actress and model who has also worked internationally. Ray began her modelling career in India in the early 1990s, appearing for leading Indian brands like

Bombay Dyeing Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Company Limited is the flagship company of the Wadia Group, engaged primarily in the business of Textiles. Bombay Dyeing is one of India's largest producers of textiles. Its current chairman is Nusli Wadia. In M ...

and

Lakmé ''Lakmé'' is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. The score, written from 1881 to 1882, was first performed on 14 April 1883 by the Opéra-Comique at the (second) Salle Favart in P ...

. She made her acting debut in 1996 in the

Tamil film Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood' ...

Nethaji ''Nethaji'' is a 1996 Tamil-language action film directed by Murthy Krishna. The film stars Sarathkumar and Lisa Ray . It and was one among Deepavali releases arrived on 10 November 1996. Plot Karunamurthy, an honest home minister, is force ...

.'' Her first

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

appearance was in 2001, in the offbeat romantic thriller ''

Kasoor ''Kasoor'' ( en, Fault) is a 2001 Indian Hindi psychological suspense thriller film produced under Mukesh Bhatt's Vishesh Films and directed by Vikram Bhatt. It features Aftab Shivdasani in his second Bollywood appearance and Lisa Ray in her B ...

''. Through her acting career, Ray has demonstrated a penchant for issue-oriented portrayals, most notably in the 2005 Oscar nominated Canadian film ''Water'' and the award-winning South African feature ''

The World Unseen ''The World Unseen'' is a 2007 historical drama film, written and directed by Shamim Sarif, adapted from her own novel. The film is set in 1950s Cape Town, South Africa during the beginning of apartheid. The film stars Lisa Ray and Sheetal S ...

'', described by a reviewer as "one of the best-conceived queer films of the past year." In 2009, Ray was diagnosed with

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, an ...

, an incurable form of blood cancer. She began writing ''The Yellow Diaries,'' a blog about her experiences of having cancer. Her writing and columns have since regularly appeared in multiple major publications. Ray remains an active advocate of

stem-cell therapy Stem-cell therapy is the use of stem cells to treat or prevent a disease or condition. , the only established therapy using stem cells is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. This usually takes the form of a bone-marrow transplantation, but ...

and has participated in several successful fundraisers and cancer awareness campaigns. In 2011, Ray began hosting a popular travel show on

Discovery Channel India Discovery Channel India is the Indian version of Discovery Channel operated by Warner Bros. Discovery for the Indian subcontinent. It is available in eight languages including Hindi, English, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali and Marathi w ...

alongside appearing as host and judge in

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ...

's highest rated show, ''

Top Chef Canada ''Top Chef Canada'' is a Canadian reality competition television series and is considered one of the most prestigious culinary competitions in Canada. The show premiered on April 11, 2011, on Food Network Canada. The first season consisted of 13 ...

''. In 2016, Ray opened an

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

account dedicated to poetry. In March 2019, Ray participated as a panelist on the 2019 edition of ''

Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Frenc ...

'' where she advocated for

David Chariandy David Chariandy is a Canadian writer. His parents immigrated to Canada from Trinidad in the 1960s. He was born in Scarborough, Ontario. His father is from South Asian descent, whereas his mother is African. They were both working class immigra ...

's award-winning second novel, ''Brother.''

Early life

Ray was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

to a

Bengali Hindu Bengali Hindus ( bn, বাঙ্গালী হিন্দু/বাঙালি হিন্দু, translit=Bāṅgālī Hindu/Bāṅāli Hindu) are an ethnoreligious population who make up the majority in the Indian states of West Benga ...

father and a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

mother and grew up in the suburb of

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...

. She spoke Polish with her maternal grandmother and watched movies of

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

and

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of fil ...

with her

cinephile Cinephilia (; also cinemaphilia or filmophilia) is the term used to refer to a passionate interest in films, film theory, and film criticism. The term is a portmanteau of the words cinema and philia, one of the four ancient Greek words for lo ...

dad. During her childhood she spent some time in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

. She excelled academically, doing five years of high school in four, while attending three different high schools:

Etobicoke Collegiate Institute Etobicoke Collegiate Institute (ECI, Etobicoke CI), previously known as Etobicoke High School is a high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Islington neighbourhood of the former suburb of Etobicoke. It is overseen by the Tor ...

Richview Collegiate Institute Richview Collegiate Institute (Richview CI, RCI or Richview) is a secondary school in Etobicoke, in the west end of Toronto, Ontario. It is in the Etobicoke Board of Education which in turn became the part of the Toronto District School Board in 19 ...

and

Silverthorn Collegiate Institute Silverthorn Collegiate Institute (SCI, Silverthorn) is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the neighbourhood of Markland Wood in the former suburb of Etobicoke. It is under the sanction of the Toronto District Scho ...

Modelling, film and television career

1991–2000

Ray's modelling career began when she was "discovered" during a family vacation in India while still in her teens. An advertisement for Bombay Dyeing where she appeared in a black swimsuit opposite

Karan Kapoor Karan Kapoor (born 18 January 1962) is an Indian photographer, actor and model. He is the son of actors Shashi Kapoor and Jennifer Kendal. His paternal grandfather was Prithviraj Kapoor and his paternal uncles are Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor ...

earned Ray her first taste of public attention. A subsequent meeting with Maureen Wadia, editor of Indian fashion magazine

Gladrags ''Gladrags'' is an Indian magazine, published biweekly featuring modeling and related events. History and profile Gladrags was established in 1959. The first issue appeared in July 1959. The magazine is owned by Maureen Wadia. It is primaril ...

, resulted in an iconic swimsuit cover that catapulted Ray to nationwide fame in India. "Most of my most fulfilling professional moments came to me via serendipity", Ray later wrote. By the time the Gladrags cover broke, Ray was already back in Toronto ready to begin university. Her plans were thwarted after a tragic auto accident that would consign her mother to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Ray returned to India and went on to become one of the country's first

supermodel A supermodel, also spelled super-model or super model, is a highly paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in ''haute couture'' and commercial modeling. The term ''supermodel'' became prominent in the po ...

s, and the face of Lakmé and Bombay Dyeing. Ray would later acknowledge this coinciding of professional triumph and personal tragedy as a recurring theme in her life. "I have come to recognise that every major turning point in my life is preceded by pain", she wrote in Femina in 2016. As one of India's most successful cover models, Ray would subsequently lend her face to iconic global brands such as L’Oréal, MasterCard,

De Beers De Beers Group is an international corporation that specializes in diamond mining, diamond exploitation, diamond retail, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. The company is active in open-pit, large-scale alluvial and c ...

and Rado. A ''

Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, t ...

'' poll named her the "ninth most beautiful woman of the millennium," the only model in the top ten. She co-anchored the TV show Star Biz on

Star Movies Star Movies is an Asian pay television network originally owned by The Walt Disney Company (Southeast Asia) Pte. Ltd., Fox Networks Group Middle East and Disney Star. In March 2019, The Walt Disney Company acquired Star TV for $71 billion with ...

and appeared in a music video for ''

Afreen Afreen "Afreen Afreen" ( ) is a ghazal song written by Javed Akhtar and composed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. It first featured on their collaborative album ''Sangam'' in 1996. In 2016, it was covered by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (Nusrat's nephew) and Mo ...

'', an iconic

ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

written by renowned lyricist Javed Akhtar, and composed and performed by

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan ( pa, ; born Pervez Fateh Ali Khan; 13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997) was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, and music director. He was primarily a singer of qawwali — a form of Sufi music, Sufi devotional music. ...

2001–2009

After turning down a number of roles, Ray made her Indian Film Industry debut in 2001 with the Hindi film ''

,'' opposite

Aftab Shivdasani Aftab Shivdasani (born 25 June 1978) is an Indian actor, producer and model known for his works in Bollywood and also working for Tamil and Kannada film industry. Shivdasani was selected as the Farex baby at the age of 14 months and eventually ...

, in which her voice was dubbed by

Divya Dutta Divya Dutta (born 25 September 1977) is an Indian actress and model. She has appeared in Hindi and Punjabi cinema, in addition to Malayalam and English-language films. She has received many awards including a National Film Award, a Filmfare Aw ...

, because she could not speak

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

. In spite of that, her performance received positive reviews. Her work in the film also caught the eye of

Deepa Mehta Deepa Mehta, (; born 1 January 1950) is an Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter, best known for her Elements Trilogy, Fire (1996 film), ''Fire'' (1996), ''Earth (1998 film), Earth'' (1998), and ''Water (2005 film), Water'' (2005 ...

, who cast her in the romantic Indian-Canadian romp ''

Bollywood/Hollywood ''Bollywood/Hollywood'' is a 2002 Canadian romantic comedy drama film directed by Deepa Mehta and starring Rahul Khanna and Lisa Ray. The film was lighthearted, humorous, and family-oriented. The film pokes fun at traditional Indian stereotypes ...

'' in 2002. Realizing that acting was something that she wanted to pursue more seriously, Ray moved to London to concentrate on a career in the performing arts. While there, Ray studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama, the London Centre for Theatre Studies, the Desmond Jones school of Physical Theatre, and BADA. She graduated from the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA), in 2004, with a post-graduate degree in acting. While studying, Ray made a conscious effort to not accept any film offers until she had graduated. However, while still at ALRA, she received another call from Deepa Mehta, who made her an offer she simply could not refuse—the lead role of Kalyani in Mehta's much-anticipated, and eventually highly controversial, feature, ''

Water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

''. In the film, Lisa spoke her lines in Hindi, although her voice was dubbed in the final cut. Water released in 2005 to both national and global critical acclaim, with the venerable

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

describing it as "lovely in the way

's films are lovely", Ray has since worked in productions from Canada, Europe, and the United States. Past roles include a farm girl in ''

All Hat ''All Hat'' is a 2007 Canadian Western comedy film directed by Leonard Farlinger and starring Luke Kirby, Keith Carradine, Noam Jenkins, and Lisa Ray. It was written by Brad Smith, based on his novel of the same name. Plot Ray Dokes is fresh o ...

'', a school teacher in '' A Stone's Throw,'' and a housewife in 1950s-apartheid South Africa in ''

.'' In 2008 Ray starred, alongside

Sheetal Sheth Sheetal Sheth (born June 24, 1976 ) is an American actress, author, producer, and activist. She starred opposite Albert Brooks in his film ''Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World''. She debuted to rave reviews in the films ''ABCD'' and '' Ame ...

and

Amber Rose Revah Amber Rose Revah (born 24 June 1986) is a British actress, writer, and voice artist. She is best known for playing the roles of Dinah Madani in Marvel's '' The Punisher'', Mika in MGM limited series Last Light and as Mary Magdalene in the box ...

, in the

Shamim Sarif Shamim Sarif (born 24 September 1969) is a British novelist and filmmaker of South Asian and South African heritage. Her work often focuses on various aspects of identity including gender, race, and sexuality. It often draws upon her own person ...

directed British romantic comedy ''

I Can't Think Straight ''I Can't Think Straight'' is a 2008 British romantic drama film directed by Shamim Sarif. Based on Sarif's 2008 novel of the same name, the film tells the story of a London-based Jordanian of Palestinian descent, Tala, who is preparing for an e ...

'' that went on to win awards in queer film festivals worldwide, including Dallas OUT TAKES, Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, and

Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film festival The Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival is a movie screening event that takes place each October in Tampa, Florida. The primary venue is the Tampa Theatre, but several other cinemas in or near the downtown area and in St. Petersburg si ...

. After graduation, Ray based herself out of Milan, Paris, and New York from 2004 to 2008, returning to Toronto upon her mother's death in late 2008. In 2007, Ray completed filming for ''

Kill Kill Faster Faster ''Kill Kill Faster Faster'' is a 2008 thriller film directed by Gareth Maxwell Roberts, with the screenplay an adaptation by Gareth Maxwell Roberts and Joel Rose of Rose's novel of the same name. The film stars Gil Bellows, Lisa Ray, Esai Morales ...

'', which is a contemporary film noir inspired by the critically acclaimed novel of the same name, by

Joel Rose Joel Rose is an American novelist. Career His novels include ''The Blackest Bird'' (2007), ''Kill the Poor'' (1988), and '' Kill Kill Faster Faster'' (1988). He also authored the urban historical, ''New York Sawed in Half: An Urban Historical'' ( ...

. She guest-starred in a 2009 episode of the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

series ''

Psych ''Psych'' is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks for USA Network. The series stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observ ...

'', and appeared in

Woody Harrelson Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor and playwright. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...

starrer Canadian-American superhero film ''

Defendor ''Defendor'' is a 2009 Canadian-American vigilante comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Stebbings in his directorial debut. It stars Woody Harrelson as Arthur Poppington, a regular man who adopts a superhero persona named Defendor, wi ...

''. Also in 2009, she starred in the Deepa and Dilip Mehta comedy ''

Cooking with Stella ''Cooking with Stella'' is a 2009 film written by siblings Deepa Mehta and Dilip Mehta. The film is a light comedy about a Canadian diplomat (Lisa Ray) and her husband (Don McKellar) living in New Delhi, and their cook, Stella (Seema Biswas).Sus ...

''. Appearing at the 2009 ''

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

'' in support of the film, Ray revealed that she had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

2010s

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

in 2009, Ray received a

stem cell transplant Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood in order to replicate inside of a patient and to produc ...

to treat her rare cancer. In April 2010, she announced she was cancer-free due to the transplant. She gave a candid interview on her personal cancer trauma and surviving it, appearing on the cover of the 2010 anniversary issue of the Indian men's luxury magazine ''The Man''. 2010 saw Ray in UniGlobe Entertainment's cancer docu-drama titled '' 1 a Minute''. The documentary was made by

Namrata Singh Gujral Namrata Singh Gujral (born February 26, 1976) is an American filmmaker, motivational speaker and actor. Life and career Gujral was born in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, but left India at a young age. A devout Sikh by faith, she graduated in 1 ...

and featured cancer survivors

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

Diahann Carroll Diahann Carroll (; born Carol Diann Johnson; July 17, 1935 – October 4, 2019) was an American actress, singer, model, and activist. She rose to prominence in some of the earliest major studio films to feature black casts, including ''Car ...

Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and its lead ...

Mumtaz Mumtaz ( ar, ممتاز) is a name commonly used in various countries in the Muslim world, mainly Afghanistan, Brunei, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Turkey. It can also be used as a female name. ''Mumtazah'' is a related female versio ...

Bárbara Mori Bárbara Mori Ochoa () (born 2 February 1978) is a Uruguayan-born Mexican actress, model, producer and writer. She is known for playing the main character in the 2004 telenovela '' Rubí,'' one of the most successful telenovelas of all time. Sin ...

and

Jaclyn Smith Jacquelyn Ellen "Jaclyn" Smith (born October 26, 1945) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is best known for her role as Kelly Garrett in the television series ''Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), and was the only original female lead ...

, as well as

William Baldwin William Joseph Baldwin (born February 21, 1963), Note: While birthplace is routinely listed as Massapequa, that town has no hospital, and brother Alec Baldwin was born in nearby Amityville, which does. known also as Billy Baldwin,is an America ...

Daniel Baldwin Daniel Leroy Baldwin (born October 5, 1960) is an American actor. He is the second oldest of the four Baldwin brothers, all of whom are actors. Baldwin played the role of Detective Beau Felton in the NBC TV series '' Homicide: Life on the Stree ...

, and

Priya Dutt Priya Dutt Roncon (born 28 August 1966) is an Indian people, Indian politician and social worker. She was elected for the first time to the 14th Lok Sabha from Mumbai North West (Lok Sabha constituency), Mumbai North West constituency in Mahara ...

, whose lives have been touched by cancer. The feature was narrated by

Kelly McGillis Kelly Ann McGillis (born July 9, 1957) is an American stage actress. She is known for her film roles such as Rachel Lapp in ''Witness'' (1985), for which she received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations; Charlie in ''Top Gun'' (1986); ''Made in ...

. On 5 July 2010, Ray hosted an informal lunch for

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

and

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

during their visit to Toronto. In 2011, Ray acted in the stage play ''Taj'', opposite

Kabir Bedi Kabir Bedi ( pa, ਕਬੀਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਬੇਦੀ; born 16 January 1946) is an Indian actor. His career has spanned three continents covering India, the United States and especially Italy among other European countries in three media: f ...

at Luminato Festival, Toronto's International Festival of Arts and Ideas. Written by Canadian playwright John Murrell, ''Taj'' combined poetry, music, theatre, and the Indian classical dance form

kathak Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern Ind ...

. The production was described by ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' critic Deirdre Kelly "as luminous and poignant as the building that inspired it". In the same year, Ray appeared in Craig Goodwill's award-winning fantasy drama film ''

Patch Town A coal town, also known as a coal camp or patch, is a type of company town or mining community established by the employer, a mining company, which imports workers to the site to work the mineral find. The company develops it and provides residenc ...

'', and a

season 4 Season 4 may refer to: * "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock'' See also * * Season One (disambiguation) * Season 2 (disambiguation) Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album) * '' 2econd Season'' See also * ...

episode of Canadian Television period crime drama series ''

Murdoch Mysteries ''Murdoch Mysteries'' is a Canadian television drama series that premiered on Citytv on January 20, 2008, and currently airs on CBC. The series is based on characters from the ''Detective Murdoch'' novels by Maureen Jennings and stars Yannick B ...

'', titled "The Black Hand". She presented the 2011

IIFA Awards The International Indian Film Academy Awards, popularly known as IIFA, is an annual awards ceremony for Bollywood. Produced by Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, the winners of the awards are decided by fans, who vote online for th ...

in Toronto, and was a co-presenter the 2011

Giller Prize The Giller Prize (sponsored as the Scotiabank Giller Prize), is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried competition be ...

along with singer-songwriter

Nelly Furtado Nelly Kim Furtado (; ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Furtado has sold over 40 million records worldwide making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. She first gained fame with her trip hop-inspired deb ...

and

roots rock Roots rock is a genre of rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid subgenres from the later 1960s, including blues rock, country rock, Southern rock, ...

guitarist

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson, OC (born July 5, 1943), is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his work as lead guitarist and songwriter for the Band, and for his career as a solo recording artist. With the deaths of Richard Manuel in ...

. Also in 2011, Ray appeared as host and travel guide on ''Oh My Gold'', a five part series on

Discovery Travel & Living Discovery Travel & Living is a defunct channel brand from Discovery Communications. This name was used in countries of Europe, Latin America and Asia. In other parts of the world the channel is known as Travel and Living Channel. It features tra ...

, now

TLC India TLC India is an Indian television channel, previously known as Discovery Travel & Living. It focuses on lifestyle programmes, with topics such health, cooking and travel. The channel launched in October 2004 and was the first international chan ...

. In 2012, Ray began hosting season two of ''

'',

Food Network Canada Food Network, formerly called Food Network Canada, is a Canadian English language specialty channel based on the U.S. cable network of the same name. It airs programming related to food, cooking, cuisine, and the food industry. The Canadian versi ...

's highest rated series. The season premiered in March 2012. Speaking to ''The Telegraph'' in 2012, Ray remarked, "I think every film that I’ve done so far has been a turning point because I experimented with each one and grew professionally. The movies I chose, dealt with a lot of thought-provoking subjects. In 2016, Ray starred in

Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Bollywood, Hindi, Kannada cinema, Kannada language ...

's ''Veerappan''. She also played a crucial supporting role in 2017’s ''Dobaara'', the official Bollywood adaptation of supernatural horror film ''

Oculus Oculus (a term from Latin ''oculus'', meaning 'eye'), may refer to the following Architecture * Oculus (architecture), a circular opening in the centre of a dome or in a wall Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Oculus'' (film), a 2013 American ...

''. Since 2019, Ray has appeared as part of an ensemble cast in the

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

web series ''

Four More Shots Please! ''Four More Shots Please!'' is an Indian comedy-drama streaming television series on Amazon Prime Video directed by Anu Menon and Nupur Asthana. The series follows the story of four unapologetically flawed women (two in their 30s and two in t ...

''. After a successful first season aired in over 200 countries and regions, the series returned for a second season in 2020 and a third season in 2022.

Personal life

On 23 June 2009, Ray was diagnosed with

, a cancer of the white blood cells known as plasma cells, which produce antibodies. It is a rare disease. In April 2010, she announced that she was cancer-free, after an

autologous stem cell transplant Autologous stem-cell transplantation (also called autogenous, autogeneic, or autogenic stem-cell transplantation and abbreviated auto-SCT) is autotransplantation, autologous transplantation of stem cells—that is, transplantation in which stem cel ...

using her own stem cells. As multiple myeloma is an incurable disease, Ray is not completely cured of the disease. In February 2012, Ray announced her engagement to management consultant Jason Dehni. On 20 October 2012, Ray and Dehni (then a banking executive) were married in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...

. In September 2018, Ray announced that she and her husband became parents to twin daughters Sufi and Soleil via

surrogacy Surrogacy is an arrangement, often supported by a legal agreement, whereby a woman agrees to delivery/labour for another person or people, who will become the child's parent(s) after birth. People may seek a surrogacy arrangement when pregnan ...

, in June 2018.

Filmography

Film

Television

Philanthropy

* 2009: 5K Your Way Walk/Run, MMWalk for the Cure * 2009: Plan Canada's 'Because I Am A Girl' campaign * 2010: Plan Canada's 'Because I Am A Girl' campaign * 2010: "1 a Minute", to inspire women and give them hope * 2010: Estee Lauder Breast Cancer Awareness * 2011: 'Make Myeloma Matter' media campaign * 2011: Artbound, in support of Free The Children * 2011: GIRL 20 SUMMIT * 2012: BE FAIR 2 RARE * 2012: Wellspring Cancer 'Graduate' Fashion show * 2012: "Rhythm and Soul"-THE SPARK GALA 2012, to Ignite A Child's Potential * 2012: Run or Walk, MM5K * 2012: Plan Canada's 'Because I Am A Girl' campaign * 2012: Ambassador for ''

Pantene Beautiful Lengths Pantene () is a brand of hair care products owned by Procter & Gamble. The product line was first introduced in Europe in 1945 by Hoffmann-La Roche, which branded the name based on panthenol as a shampoo ingredient. It was purchased by Procter & ...

'' campaign in Canada

Brand ambassador

* Brand ambassador of Rado (watches) in India * Lisa named Ambassador for 'Pantene Beautiful Lengths' Campaign

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Lisa 1972 births Living people Actresses from Toronto People with multiple myeloma Bengali Hindus Canadian Hindus Canadian film actresses Canadian actresses of Indian descent Canadian people of Polish descent Canadian people of Bengali descent Canadian infotainers Canadian television hosts Canadian expatriate actresses in India Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses of European descent in Indian films Actresses of European descent in Bollywood films Alumni of the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts Canadian women television hosts 20th-century Canadian actresses 21st-century Canadian actresses