In a recent interview, Día Mirza talked about what her childhood was like, and shared stories of her past. The actor also talked about what the relationship she shared with her late biological father Frank Hendrich and her late stepfather Ahmed Mirza, and what they were like. Día also shared why she took her stepfather’s surname before she entered the Miss India pageant.
Día Mirza
Día Mirza was born in Hyderabad. Her late biological father, Frank Hendrich, was of German origin and her mother Deepa Mirza is Bengali. Dia participated in the Miss India pageant where she took her stepfather’s surname and she, at the age of 18, was later crowned Miss India Pacific 2000.
She entered into Bollywood with the film Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, which also starred R Madhavan and Saif Ali Khan. The movie was a remake of the Minnal, a popular Tamil film.
In an interview recently, Dia shared about changing her surname from Hendrich to Mirza. She said, “I loved my stepfather; he was a remarkable man. A lot of what I have learned in life especially the values that have held me in good stead, and this is something I can vouch for, are all values that he gave me. We had a very beautiful relationship that started off as friendship. Then I think as I grew older and I recognised that I had spent more years of my life with him, and him as a parent, he just became more and more my father, and that’s why I took on his surname when I joined the Miss India pageant.”
Dia’s biological father, Frank Hendrich died when she was nine years old. Her stepfather, Ahmed Mirza died in 2003. Talking about her relationship with her stepfather, Dia said, “It was amazing how he never tried to take my father’s place, but made his own place in my heart. Unfortunately, I lost him as well, when I was 23, and that was a huge, huge, huge loss because I think whatever said and done, the security blanket that a father figure gives you in life, nobody else can. When you lose a father that young, and I had lost two fathers within one lifetime, it’s very hard.”
Dia Mirza and Mumbai-based businessman Vaibhav Rekhi got married in February 2021 in an intimate ceremony. Dia and Vaibhav welcomed their first child, son Avyaan Azaad Rekhi, in May 2021.
On the work front, Dia was last seen in the movie Thappad, directed by filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, which also starred Taapsee Pannu in the lead role. The actor will next be seen in Tarun Dudeja’s Dhak Dhak. It also stars Ratna Pathak Shah, Fatima Sana Shaikh, and Sanjana Sanghi in pivotal roles. Dia will also be reuniting with Anubhav in his upcoming film, Bheed, scheduled to release later this year.
