Pooja Kumar is an Indian model, actress, and television hostess. The former Channel V VJ, Pooja was crowned Miss India USA and has appeared in Tamil and English language films including Kadhal Rojave (2000), Man on a Ledge (2012), and Vishwaroopam (2013).
Early Life
Pooja was born in St. Louis, Missouri, USA in a Mathur family. Both her parents are Indian immigrants, her father hails from Dehradun and her mother is from Lucknow. The actress holds a degree in Political Science and Finance and graduated from the Washington University. Pooja has also attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She is trained in Kathak, Bharatnatyam, and Kuchipudi forms of Indian classical dance.
Movie Career
Pooja did not have a smooth start to her career as an actor. The actress was first offered the 1997 Tamil film V.I.P. featuring Prabhudeva, Simran, Abbas, and Rambha, however, she was eventually dropped from the project. Later, she was signed to star opposite Karthik in Chinna Raja but again she was left out. After the initial rejections, in 1997 she made her acting debut in the Tamil film, Kadhal Rojave alongside George Vishnu. Unfortunately, due to the production delays, the movie was released in the year 2000 and opened to negative responses and thus the actress' role went unnoticed in the movie.

In 2003, Pooja appeared in a Malayalam movie Magic Magic 3D, which also starred S.P. Balasubramaniam and Trilok Malik. The movie received negative reviews from the critics but was a commercial success. After failing to make a mark in the Indian film industry, Pooja went on to act in English movies and made her Hollywood debut with Flavors (2004) directed by Krishna D.K and Raj Nidimoru. The romantic-comedy film about Indian immigrants in America received critical and commercial acclaim. The film has gained a cult status amongst the NRI (Non-Residential Indian) audience. For her stellar performance in the movie, Pooja won the Screen Actors Guild Emerging Actor Award.

From 2004 to 2009, Pooja was only seen in English movies such as Bollywood Beats (2006), Park Sharks (2009), and Anything for You (2010). It was only in 2010 that Pooja bagged her first Hindi role in Anjaana Anjaani, a romantic drama directed by Siddharth Anand. The movie stars Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra in lead roles. She also appeared in the Hollywood movie Man on a Ledge (2012) that stars Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, and Edward Burns.

In 2013, after a gap of almost 15 years, Pooja made her comeback in the Tamil film industry with Kamal Haasan starrer Vishwaroopam. The movie was one of the highest grossing films of that year. She was next seen in Uthama Villain (2015) helmed by Ramesh Aravind. The film opened to critical acclaim but was a box office failure considering the budget of the film. Her 2016 release Meen Kuzhambum Mann Paanaiyum was a Tamil fantasy comedy featuring Prabhu, Kalidas Jayaram, and Ashna Zaveri in the lead role. The film had a decent run at the box office. She made her debut in Telugu with Rajasekhar`s PSV Garuda Vega (2017). The film was declared a hit by the trade pundits. Her 2018 projects include Vishwaroopam 2, a circumquel to 2013 hit Vishwaroopam. The film is a bilingual spy thriller film and is titled Vishwaroop II in Hindi.
TV Career
Pooja began working as a Video Jockey for Channel V and also appeared in several American TV commercials for brands such as Bombay Dreams, Verizon, Dodge, and Pearle Vision. In 2008, Pooja appeared as a host on the late-night quiz show on the Indian Zee TV, known as Jaago Aur Jeeto. She has also hosted a comedy show, Movies for the ImaginAsian, aired on ImaginAsian TV. As the host, Pooja introduced Bollywood, Japanese, and Chinese films to second-generation Asians.

In 2008, she was also seen in the musical comedy miniseries Bollywood Hero, which was aired on IFC (Independent Film Channel), an American satellite and cable television network. In the three-part series, Pooja was seen opposite the Saturday Night Live comedian, Chris Kattan. In 2009, Pooja appeared in the Pakistani drama serial Ishq Junoon Deewangi, which was aired on Hum TV.
Other Ventures
Pooja has also produced and starred in the short films 1001 Auditions, and Shoot My Life. The former was selected in eight film festivals and was nominated for Best Short at the Stuttgart Film Festival in Germany.