For Real?

Not that I think this child from the slums doesn't deserve to have a decent life, but, damn, can a sistah get a book deal. What's up?

Slumdog Millionaire star Rubina Ali is writing her life-story - at the age of nine.

Ali was plucked from the slums of Mumbai, India to star in Danny Boyle's multiple Oscar-winning movie.

Since the movie's release, the young actress has travelled the world on a whirlwind promotional tour.

Just months after she returned home, Ali was left homeless when Indian authorities demolished her family home. Her father was also hospitalised after police allegedly beat him to force the family to leave their residence.

She has since been offered two new homes by the Indian government and a trust set up by Slumdog's filmmakers for her and young co-star Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail.

Ali's autobiography, Slumdog Dreaming: My Journey to the Stars, will be released in the U.K. and U.S. on 16 July.

A statement from publishers TransWorld promises, "(Ali) tells her own incredible story, from playing marbles with her friends beside the sewers of Garib Nagar in Mumbai, to dancing along to the Bollywood films she and her family watch on their old television set."

--www.wenn.com