Yami Gautam is a timeless beauty but more than anything, she is a talented actress. The actress began her acting career in television shows, followed by South Indian films, and eventually progressed to Bollywood. Later, she made an impressive debut with the 2012 film Vicky Donor alongside Ayushmann Khurrana in the lead, in which, she essayed the role of a Bengali woman. The film gave her wider appraisal and fame, for her debut performance, Yami received critical acclaim as well as several awards. Ever since Yami has been unstoppable and her impeccable talent has left an impression on the hearts of movie buffs that are hard to beat.

Later, Yami made her way to people’s hearts with her beautiful performances in films like Sriram Raghavan's action thriller Badlapur,   Sanjay Gupta's revengeful romantic thriller Kaabil, Aditya Dhar's military action thriller film Uri: The Surgical Strike, and Amar Kaushik's comedy-drama Bala. She was last seen in Tushar Jalota's social comedy Dasvi, alongside Abhishek Bachchan and Nimrat Kaur. The actress celebrates her birthday today and not many know much about the actress and her background. Thus, we have compiled a list of some unknown facts about Yami.

1. Aspired to join IAS

Yami Gautam never thought of pursuing acting in her life but wanted to be an Indian Administrative Services (IAS) as a young girl. In an old interview with Hindustan Times, she was quoted as saying: “I wanted to be an IAS officer when a few of family friends came to meet us in Chandigarh and told my parents that I should try to enter Bollywood. After that my father sent some photos of mine to directors in Mumbai, I got a call and there was no looking back,” Yami says, adding that she took some time to get used to being famous."

2. Love for chai

Yami Gautam loves chai like all of us and she often shares snaps and moments from her tea break on her social media handle. In fact, she also played the role of a tea estate owner in Bhoot Police. The actress has spoken about it a number of times before, and her favorite seems to be adrak wali chai. Whenever Yami travels abroad, she has a kit that goes along with her. She can't do without it and that's why she travels everywhere with a chai kit.

3. Started with TV

Not many would know, Yami Gautam began her career with television. She made her television debut in Chand Ke Paar Chalo in 2008 which was set in a Muslim Hindu backdrop in Lucknow. The show also featured Aham Sharma and Zalak Thakker. After this, Yami played the lead in Raajkumar Aaryyan. Later, she was seen in Yeh Pyar Na Hoga Kam and also participated in reality shows Meethi Choori No 1 and Kitchen Champion Season 1.

4. Nature lover

Yami Gautam has set up her own greenhouse in her home in Himachal Pradesh which also has an organic garden for fruits, vegetables, and flowers. In an old interview with Mumbai Mirror, she said that when she was growing up, her family always maintained a little kitchen garden in their Chandigarh home, which inadvertently introduced her to the concept of organic farming early on and they would pluck the fresh veggies from their garden and make sabzi.

5. A law student

Born in Bilaspur and brought up in Chandigarh, Yami Gautam was a law student and pursued her studies in Law Honors (first-year PU Student of law) But soon she pursued her passion for an acting career and left law halfway. Interestingly, she got to play a lawyer on the big screen in Shree Narayan Singh’s directorial Batti Gul Meter Chalu starring Shahid Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor in the lead.

6. Not a gym person

Yami Gautam prefers to work out more in open spaces thanks to her trainer who curated workouts for this fitness lover. In the past, she also admitted that it was a mistake to cut down on carbs and over-exercise. She has slowed down with yoga

7. Punjabi film connection

Yami Gautam’s father Mukesh Gautam is a Punjabi film director. He is known for his movies Ek Noor (2011) and Akhiyaan Udeekdian (2009) Yami’s sister Surilie Gautam is also an actress. She made her television debut in 2008 with Sony's Meet Mila De Rabba. Later she started her film career with the Punjabi film Power Cut.

8. Trained pole dancer

Known as a fitness freak, Yami Gautam included one more thing in her fitness regime and decided to add pole dancing to her routine. She also joined Aarifa Bhinderwala's pole dancing classes. Earlier, in a statement, Yami revealed why she opted for pole dancing as a fitness exercise - she said enthusiasm for fitness and love for dance culminated in the idea.  Pole dancing is a great way to work on your fitness ability and your dance. It challenges the fitness level a lot more," IANS quoted her. She also featured in a pole dancing sequence on screen in the song Chandralekha from the movie A Gentleman.