page_title: Jacqueline Fernandez
section_title: 2009–2013: Debut and breakthrough
hierarchical_section_title: Jacqueline Fernandez / Acting career / 2009–2013: Debut and breakthrough
caption_attribution_description: English: Jacqueline Fernandez at the 'Race 2' press conference
context_page_description: Jacqueline Fernandez is a Sri Lankan actress, former model, and the winner of the Miss Universe Sri Lanka pageant of 2006 who predominantly works in Bollywood. In 2009, she debuted in Bollywood with the movie Aladin and since then has established a career in the industry. Born into a multiracial family of Canadian, Sri Lankan, and Malaysian descent, Fernandez was raised in Bahrain. After graduating in mass communication from the University of Sydney and working as a television reporter in Sri Lanka, she joined the modeling industry. She was crowned Miss Universe Sri Lanka in 2006, and represented her country at Miss Universe 2006.
  While on a modelling assignment in India in 2009, Fernandez successfully auditioned for Sujoy Ghosh's fantasy drama Aladin, which marked her acting debut. Fernandez had her breakthrough role with the psychological thriller Murder 2, her first commercial success. This was followed by glamorous roles in the commercially successful ensemble-comedy Housefull 2 and the action thriller Race 2, which garnered her an IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination.
context_section_description: In 2009, Fernandez traveled to India for a modeling assignment. She successfully auditioned for Sujoy Ghosh's fantasy film Aladin (2009) her acting debut. She played the love interest of Riteish Deshmukh's character, a role based on the character of Princess Jasmine. and Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN felt that she was: "easy on the eyes and appears confident but has precious little to do". Although the film was a critical and commercial failure, she won the IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year – Female.
  In 2010, Fernandez appeared opposite Deshmukh in the science fiction romantic comedy Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai. She was cast as a girl from Venus, who lands on Earth in search of love. The film, along with Fernandez's performance, received poor reviews; Rediff.com's Sukanya Verma noted: "She gamely makes a fool of herself whilst aping the actions of movie stars, ranging from Sridevi's Naagin dance, Mithun Chakravarthy's Disco Dancer moves, to Big B's violent headshake in Hum. Her Tara could be a keeper if only Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai wasn't so intent on turning her into a love-struck Barbie." Critic Anupama Chopra also criticized Fernandez, calling her "a pin-prick on a balloon". Later that year, she made a special appearance in the song "Dhanno" for Sajid Khan's comedy Housefull.
  Mahesh Bhatt's thriller Murder 2 was Fernandez's first commercial success and marked a turning point in her career. She took on the role of Priya, a lonely model who is in a confused relationship with Arjun Bhagwat (played by Emraan Hashmi). Fernandez was praised for her performance, and for the boldness and sex appeal she displayed in the film. Gaurav Malini of The Times of India stated that she was "tastefully tempting" but noted that her romance with Hashmi was "literally half-baked". The following year, Fernandez appeared in the ensemble comedy Housefull 2 alongside Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, and Asin. It became one of the top grossing productions of India that year and earned ₹1.86 billion (US$26 million) worldwide. Fernandez received mostly negative reviews for her performance. While Gaurav Malini praised her for her looks, NDTV called her a "blathering bimbo" who "find[s] no pleasure in [her role]".  Despite the negative reviews, Fernandez received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 14th IIFA Awards for her performance.
  Fernandez's first release of 2013 was Race 2, an ensemble action thriller (alongside Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham and Deepika Padukone), described as the "cinematic equivalent of a trashy novel" by critic Rajeev Masand. She played Omisha, a femme fatale, a role which required her learn fencing and some acrobatics. The film emerged as a commercial success, with the domestic gross of more than ₹1 billion (US$14 million). In a particularly scathing review, Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV wrote that both Fernandez and Padukone "strut around like wound-up automatons that are all decked-up but have nowhere to go." Also that year, Fernandez appeared in an item number, titled, "Jaadu Ki Jhappi", for Prabhu Deva's romantic comedy Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya.
caption: Fernandez at an event for her film Race 2 in 2013
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