Lara Dutta Bhupathi (Hindi: लारा दत्ता भूपति; born 16 April 1978) is an Indian Bollywood actress and former Miss Universe (2000).

She made her Hindi debut in 2003 with the film Andaaz which was a box office success and won her a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award. Her box office hit successes include a series of comedies Masti (2004), No Entry (2005), Bhagam Bhag (2006), Partner (2007) and Housefull (2010). Her recent film Don 2: The King Is Back is a Blockbuster (2011).

Dutta was born in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh to a Punjabi father and an Anglo-Indian mother. Her father is Wing Commander L.K. Dutta (retired) and her mother is Jennifer Dutta. She also has two elder sisters, one of whom serves in the Indian Air Force and a well known younger sister. Composer and DJ Nitin Sawhney is Dutta's cousin. The Dutta family moved to Bangalore in 1981 where she completed high school from St.Francis Xavier Girls' High School and the Frank Anthony Public School. Dutta graduated in economics with a minor in communications from the University of Mumbai.

Dutta won the annual Gladrags modeling competition in her native India, thus winning the right to be the first Indian representative at the 1997 Miss Intercontinental, in which she took first place. Later, she was crowned Femina Miss India Universe.

At Miss Universe 2000 in Cyprus, she achieved the highest score in the swimsuit competition and her finalist interview score was the highest individual score in any category in the history of the Miss Universe contest, as her interview saw a majority of the judges giving her the maximum 9.99 mark. After her final question, in which she delivered a defense of the Miss Universe contest (and other beauty pageants), she became the second Indian Miss Universe. Dutta's win led to her appointment as a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador in 2001.

In the same year, Priyanka Chopra and Dia Mirza won their respective Miss World and Miss Asia Pacific titles which gave India a rare triple victory in the world of beauty pageants.

Dutta signed up for the Tamil film, Arasatchi in 2002, but due to financial problems, it was only released in mid-2004. She made her Hindi debut in 2003 with the film Andaaz which was a box office success and won her a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award. She then appeared in a number of films, some of which failed at the box office and some of which were moderately successful. Her box office "hits" include Masti (2004), No Entry (2005), Bhagam Bhag (2006), Partner (2007), Housefull (2010) and Don 2: The King Is Back (2011).

In 2006, she starred in the comedy, Bhagam Bhag which did well at the box office.

In 2005, Sania Mirza and Dutta both participated in Kaun Banega Crorepati (season 2) on 13 November 2005. Dutta's first release of 2007 was Shaad Ali's Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. The film was a box office failure in India but did better overseas, especially in the U.K. She received mixed reviews for her performance in the film. Her later release, Partner opened to a good response and became a hit.

Her 2009 release, Blue, was one of the most expensive movies of Indian cinema. Dutta had initially walked away from the project because the movie was entirely shot in the ocean and she did not know how to swim. However the male protagonist Akshay Kumar encouraged her in learning how to swim and she immediately started training with a special coach. Blue was released on 16 October 2009. She stated that "The moment I got to know of it, I called Akshay and told him that I wouldn't be able to accept the assignment. He knew the reason behind my decision. Not many people are aware that I had almost drowned while shooting for Andaaz, Akshay had rescued me. When I reminded him I couldn't swim, he told me to forget my phobia and learn swimming pronto," said Dutta. "Today, I feel Blue has not merely made me overcome my phobias, but has also taught me something that will stay with me for the rest of my life".

Her 2010 release Housefull was a Super hit across India. The movie starred Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone and Riteish Deshmukh. It was the 5th biggest hit in the country with Rs 955 Millions of gross revenue. She played the role of Hetal Petal, one of the main characters in the movie.

In 2011, her first movie as a producer, Chalo Dilli, was released.

Dutta dated New York Yankees player Derek Jeter when she lived in New York City. There she was spotted at a baseball game in Yankees Stadium and a news items was carried on ESPN.

In September 2010, she got engaged to Indian tennis player, Mahesh Bhupathi. They married on February 16, 2011 in a civil ceremony in Bandra, and later followed it by a Christian ceremony on 20 February 2011 at Sunset Point in Goa.

On 1 August 2011, Dutta confirmed that she is pregnant with their first child. On 20 January 2012 it was confirmed by Bhupathi via a popular networking site that Dutta had given birth to a baby girl, they have named her Saira.