Now she's been tagged by high-society, high fashion magazine Vanity Fair for its The Vanities Girls section. Every month, in The Vanities Girls, VF chooses a 'promising' young actress and gives her a full-page portrait. Freida is the chosen one for the March 2009 issue. Taking a page out of Marilyn Monroe's playbook, in her full-page portrait, Freida is in classic pin-up pose. The result? Classy, sophisticated, sexy. Of course, recognition of this calibre, from such an elite magazine, pretty much makes it official: Freida Pinto's not just hot; she's red-hot!

Indian-born actress Freida Pinto attended St. Xavier's College in Mumbai before embarking upon a career in modeling. The striking young woman had no trouble attracting attention in the industry, and within a few years she caught the eye of filmmaker Danny Boyle, who cast her in his 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire.

The Malad girl has topped Vogue’s Top Best Dressed girls, beating stunners like Renée Zellweger, Marion Cotillard and the latest Bond girl Olga Kurylenko. The Vogue list is edited by the New York- based style director of the magazine’s American edition, Alexandra Kotur. Freida won the honours for a Donna Karan ensemble which she wore at the Producer Guild Awards.

And as Freida turned up in a glamorous Oscar de la Renta dress at BAFTA, she completely justified her new It-Girl status teaming her pale pink number with Jimmy Choos, a Tiffany necklace and a sparkly Judith Leiber clutch.

According to Freida, wearing de la Renta on the red carpet had "always been a dream". Soon enough, The Sun put her in its best- dressed list along with hotties such as Kate Winslet, Angelina Jolie, Emma Watson, Sharon Stone and Thandie Newton.

"Our favourite new fashionista Freida Pinto says the secret to dressing for the red carpet is comfort, but her pink Oscar de la Renta frock was too pretty to be comfortable," stated the UK based tabloid.

Interestingly, Freida’s personal stylist George Kotsiopoulos feels it’s not hard to get clothes for her. "Some people bent over backwards from the start and some didn’t, but after the Golden Globes, she was on most designers’ lists," added George.

There’s more. The famous fashion journal, WWD, has also described Freida as 'It- girl of the awards season, even though she isn’t an Oscar nominee'. "People see how she carries herself and that is what they are excited about as well — a pretty girl who says smart things," said George, who is also styling Freida’s Slumdog co-star Dev Patel.

George, it’s believed, has put Freida in fashion insider favourites such as Derek Lam, Azzaro, Roland Mouret and Gaultier Couture. The stylist has also been inspired by India while choosing draped and one- shouldered looks with exquisite jewellery from Indian designers such as Amrapali.

Ever since Freida started off with her red carpet appearances, she has constantly rubbed shoulders with Jolie and Kate. In fact, the two Hollywood beauties gave her handy tips to go through the glittering awards season, culminating in the Oscars. "Embrace it. Enjoy it and keep it real. Don’t get affected by all this, enjoy every moment" Jolie told Freida at the Golden Globe Awards. Freida herself admitted that every time she has a question, Kate is always there to answer it.

Freida Pinto trivia:

Birthday: October 18

Age: 24 at Slumdog Millionaire release

Birthplace: Mumbai, India

Modeled for two years before acting

Worked for the Elite modeling agency

Attended St. Xavier's College in Mumbai

Holds a bachelor's degree in English

Active in Indian classical and salsa dancing

Debut role: Latika in Slumdog Millionaire

Anchored a TV travel show, Full Circle

Previously on Spotlight:
Brad Pitt
Anne Hathaway
Angelina Jolie
Rihanna
Diya Mirza
Anushka Sharma
Shamita Shetty
Jiah Khan
Chitrangada Singh
Gauri Khan
Genelia D'souza
Amrita Rao
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Yana Gupta
Karishma Kapoor
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Imraan Khan
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Kunal Kapoor
Minissha Lamba
Arjun Rampal
Mallika Sherawat
Neil Nitin Mukesh
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Sonam Kapoor
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Amitabh Bachchan
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Amisha Patel
Abhishek Bachchan
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John Abraham
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
Preity Zinta
Akshay Kumar
Shahrukh
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Katrina Kaif
Kareena Kapoor
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Saif Ali Khan
Deepika Padukone
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Hrithik Roshan