Indian model and actress Diana Penty

Diana Penty (born 2 November, 1985) is an Indian model and actress who appears in Bollywood films. She made her acting debut in Homi Adajania's commercially successful romantic comedy Cocktail opposite Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone, and gained appreciation for her performance.

Penty's modelling career began when her photos were sent to Elite Model Management India, who liked her work and suggested she take on modelling assignments. Her first project as a model involved walking the ramp for Italian designers Trussadi and Ferre during the Indo-Italian Festival in September, 2005. After modelling for the Delhi and Mumbai fashion weeks in 2006, she later worked with top designers such as Rina Dhaka, Rohit Bal and Wendell Rodricks.

Penty rose to fame after replacing Deepika Padukone as the brand ambassador for Maybelline and for featuring as the face of Garnier India. She began her stint at Maybelline with the launch of the New White Stay UV fashion range. She then appeared in a number of advertisements, including an ad for Virgin Mobile, alongside Ranbir Kapoor and Genelia D'Souza.

Penty was originally slated to make her Bollywood debut in 2011 with Imtiaz Ali's Rockstar opposite Ranbir Kapoor, although she rejected the film due to her modelling commitments at the time and was subsequently replaced by Nargis Fakhri. She was later signed on to Homi Adajania's Cocktail instead; at Ali's suggestion. Cast alongside Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone, Penty portrayed the character of Meera, a simple Indian girl with traditional values. Despite Cocktail receiving positive to mixed reviews, Penty's performance was well received and has resulted in a rapid rise in her fan following. Nikhil Ravishanker of Mutiny.in writes, "Model Diana Penty, in her debut movie, has come out on top. Her portrayal of a simple Indian girl’s transition from being an awkward introvert to a mature romantic will definitely touch viewers’ hearts". Sonia Chopra of Sify stated, "Diana Penty is a talent to look out for. She, thankfully, is modeling import who can act". Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama wrote, "Diana, who makes her acting debut, gets to portray a rather difficult character for her debut film. There's a very disarming kind of innocence that she brings to the role and she impresses a great deal." Noted writer Shobhaa De has said "Diana Penty's debut rates amongst the best in recent times. Not only is the girl absolutely lovely but she can act! Nobody expects actual acting prowess from our lissome models - well, here's one with a terrific future." The film became a major commercial success, collecting 54.50 crore(s) (US$10 million) in the first week of release in India alone, making it the first multiplex-targeted film to cross the 50 crore(s) (US$9.2 million) mark in the first week. The film then went onto collecting 73.24 crore(s) (US$13 million) crores at the domestic box office after three weeks, thus being termed as a "hit" by Box Office India. Furthermore, the film was also a major commercial success in international markets, as it collected approx. 23.50 crore(s) (US$4.3 million) overseas.

She also received praise for her dancing skills in the chartbuster Tumhi Ho Bandhu from the film, which later became a friendship anthem.

In addition to acting, Penty is currently the Indian brand ambassador of TRESemmé and Nokia, in particular the Lumia 510 phone.

Penty has also featured on several magazine covers, such as the July 2012 issue of Vogue India, the October 2012 issue of Elle India, the January 2013 issue of Verve, the January/February 2013 issue of Women's Health India, the February 2013 issue of Grazia India and the May 2013 issue of Femina.