Dia was born to Frank Handrich, a German interior designer and Deepa from Bengal. Her parents got divorced when Dia was six years old. Later on, she took the name of Ahmed Mirza who married her mother. She did her schooling from Vidyaranya High School for Boys And Girls, a school based on the teachings of J Krishnamurthi and later Nasser School, in Kushnuma. In 2000, Dia Mirza won the Miss Asia-Pacific contest in 2000 and is considered one of the most beautiful actresses in Indian cinema. She made her cinematic debut with Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein opposite Madhavan. Dia wanted to complete her graduation in Arts by correspondence, but decided to postpone it as it was becoming difficult to juggle between the Miss Asia Pacific Competition, modelling assignments, travelling and training. In 2006, Dia and fellow-actor Aamir Khan publicly expressed support for the Narmada Bachao Andolan, the group protesting the building of a dam. This aroused the ire of political activists from the Bhartiya Janta Party who led a protest march against the actress.
