Richa Gangopadhyay (born Antara Richa Gangopadhyay on 20 March 1986) is an Indian film actress, model and former beauty queen. After appearing in commercials, she made her film debut in the 2010 Telugu political drama Leader. Since then she has starred in several commercially successful Telugu films, including Mirapakaay and Mirchi. In 2011, she starred in her first Tamil film, Mayakkam Enna, earning positive reviews for her performance.In 2005 and 2006, Richa began participating in beauty pageants and finished in the top ten in the Miss India USA competitions, winning a smaller prize for Miss Congeniality. In August 2007, Richa won the Miss Michigan pageant and in December, she was crowned Miss India USA 2007 at the 26th annual pageant held at Royal Albert's Palace in New Jersey. During the competition, she also secured the title of Miss Photogenic and qualified to represent USA in the 17th Annual Miss India Worldwide Pageant held in Johannesburg.Richa left the USA in 2008 to Mumbai, India to embark on a career in films. She subsequently graduated with a diploma in acting from Anupam Kher's acting school, Actor Prepares, and completed her portfolio, earning offers for work in fashion shows and for modelling. In early 2009, Richa featured in a commercial for Vatika Almond Hair Oil alongside Bollywood actress Preity Zinta, while she also worked as a model for Peter England, Malabar Gold and Kalaniketan in the period.