A ravishing Indian actress with true international appeal, Aishwarya Rai was born on Nov. 1, 1973 in Mangalore, India. She moved to Mumbai at a very young age and entered into the world of modeling while still in college. She participated in the Miss India Femina contest in 1994; the oldest and most credible beauty pageant in India, becoming the first runner up. This in turn paved her way for winning the internationally acclaimed Miss World crown held in Sun City, South Africa in 1994.
Rai began her acting career in 1997 and was quick to win the “FilmFare Best Actress Award” – the most prominent cinematic award given for Indian films for her work in “Hum Dil De Chukhe Sanam (1999) and “Devdas” (2002) – the latter of which was screened in Cannes. Her role in the film won her international recognition, earning her a spot as juror at the Cannes Film Festival the following year. She starred in her first English film “Bride & Prejudice” (2004), an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, which received some play in the states, followed by “The Mistress of Spices” (2005) alongside American actor, Dylan McDermott. Proving Rai held international appeal, she was also paired up with Steve Martin for the comedy sequel, “Pink Panther 2” (2009).
A striking brunette with blue-green eyes, Rai continued to exceed national and cultural expectations by gracing the covers of many worldwide fashion magazines like Cosmopolitan and Elle, as well as even Time magazine. She was also the face of international brands like L’Oreal, Pepsi, Coca Cola and more. Branching out to American audiences, Rai made appearances on the “The Oprah Winfrey Show” (syndicated, 1986- ), “The Late Show with David Letterman” (CBS, 1993- ) and “60 Minutes” (CBS, 1968- ). She also became the first Indian female to be immortalized in wax at Madame Tussaud’s wax museum in London. So famous was the actress, when she married her co-star of many films, Abhishek Bachchan, the Indian media termed the nuptials, “the wedding of the century.”