Gul Panag, born on 3rd January 1979, is an Indian actress and former Miss India Universe. She is best known for her role in Nagesh Kukunoor's film 'Dor'.
Born in Chandigarh, India, to a Military official, Gul started her education in Sangrur, in Punjab. But her father's work ensured that she moved to different places across India (and abroad). As a result of this, she studied in 14 different schools including Kendriya Vidyalayas (Chandigarh, Mhow, Leh and Wellington, Tamil Nadu), The Lawrence School, Lovedale and the International School of Lusaka, Zambia.
Gul did her Bachelors in Mathematics from Punjabi University, Patiala, and Masters in Political Science from Panjab University, Chandigarh. As a student, Panag was interested in sports and public speaking. She won numerous state and national level debate competitions, including two gold medals at the Annual National Inter University Debate competition.
Gul won the Miss India pageant in 1999 and was also crowned as the Miss Beautiful Smile there. She was selected among the final 10 contestants for the Miss Universe 1999 pageant. She began her acting career with the 2003 film Dhoop, followed by Jurm (2005) and a TV serial, Kashmeer.
Gul earned much recognition after she did Nagesh Kukunoor's Dor in 2008. She also acted in Hello and Summer 2007 that year. Few other noted films of her are Hello (2008), Straight (209), Rann (2010), Hello Darling (2010) and Turning 30 (2011).
Gul has appeared in numerous advertisements on television and print media over the past decade or so (most notably - The Titan Raga watches ads, and most recently in the Tata Sky ads along with Aamir Khan). Gul is the brand ambassador for Tata Sky, along with Aamir Khan. She ran at the Delhi Half Marathon in November 2010, but endured eve teasing from male runners at the event. She later remarked that the attitude of men in Delhi needed to change and that the city was unsafe for women.
Gul Panag got married to her long time boyfriend Rishi Attari on March 13, 2011 in a gurudwara in Chandigarh in a traditional Punjabi Sikh ceremony.
