HRD Minister Smriti Irani was once a waitress in restaurant

After Class X, she apparently earned Rs.200 for promoting a beauty product.She wanted to become a journalist at one point but gave up on that dream on being rejected after an interview by a journo. Well, good for her. She now has jounalists making a bee line for her. In 1998, Smriti Irani took part in the Femina Miss India beauty pageant, for which she borrowed Rs.1 lakh from her dad promising to repay it regardless of the outcome of the contest. Her life changed for the better when she was called to replace actress Neelam Kothari as the host of an episode of "Ooh La La La". That's when Ekta Kapoor spotted her.