Aishwarya Rai

2008-07-11T08:21:00.001-07:00

2008-07-11T06:26:00.000-07:00

Birth Name

Aishwarya Krishnaraj Rai

Nickname Ash

Gullu

The Queen of Bollywood
Height 5' 7" (1.70 m)
Mini Biography

Born into a traditional south Indian family, Aishwarya started modeling at a young age. This green-blue-eyed beauty appeared in advertisements for many prestigious firms; the ones that brought her into the limelight were the garden sari and the Pepsi ad. Crowned Miss India 1994 runner-up, she was a hot favorite in the run for miss world title, which she won, her beauty and charm made her India's darling. Ash stormed into the Indian movie industry, where she has proven herself a brilliant & genuine actress.

Biography and Career :

Aishwarya Rai was born in Mangalore, in the South Indian state of Karnataka, to Krishnaraj Rai, a marine engineer, and Vrinda Rai, a writer. Her family later relocated to Mumbai. Aishwarya Rai has one brother, Aditya Rai, who is three years older than her. Aditya is a film producer, and has occasionally produced films in which Rai acted. Aditya got married in early 2004.

Aishwarya Rai attended the Arya Vidya Mandir at Santacruz, Mumbai, then entered Ruparel College, Matunga, Mumbai. Aishwarya Rai was an A student and wa s on track to become an architect. Aishwarya Rai's native language is Tulu; she also speaks English, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Urdu, and Marathi

Aishwarya Rai began modeling on the side while studying architecture. In the 1994 Miss India contest, she placed second behind Sushmita Sen, and went on to win the Miss World title that same year and the Miss Photogenic award. After the one year reign as Miss World in London, Aishwarya Rai then worked as a professional model, in advertising and Indian fashion magazines.

In 2002, Rai appeared with Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit in the lavishly produced Devdas, which was a huge hit. The film attracted overseas attention as well, receiving a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival and being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in the United States, garnering international attention for Rai.

2003 brought even more exciting opportunities. Aishwarya Rai became the first Indian actor to be a member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival. Aishwarya Rai is also the latest member of the elite L'Oreal Dream Team, joining beauties Catherine Deneuve & Andie MacDowell as their international ambassador.

Aishwarya Rai graced the covers of India Today and the prestigious TIME Magazine. Time Magazine has also listed her on their list of the “100 Most Influential People in the World Today”

She has graced numerous covers worldwide including USA, UK, CHINA, RUSSIA, ISRAEL, UNITED EMERITES, ITALY, SPAIN, MEXICO and FRANCE. Aishwarya Rai was also listed on Rolling Stone Magazine's annual "Hot List", Hello Magazine’s Most Attractive Women in the World”, Stuff Magazine, FHM magazine, V-Life from Variety Magazine, GQ Magazine, New York Times Magazine, Harper’s & Queen and countless others.

2004 saw Aishwarya Rai take on the leading role in her first English language film for Gurinder Chadha in “Bride & Prejudice”.

Aishwarya Rai also became the first Indian female to be immortalized in wax at the world famous Madame Tussaud’s wax museum in London.

Although frequently the subject of gossip column speculation about an imminent Hollywood career, it was only in 2004 that Aishwarya Rai finally acted in a foreign film, when British director Gurinder Chadha hired her to play the heroine in Bride and Prejudice, a Hollywood-funded but Bollywood-ized version of Jane Austen's classic novel, Pride and Prejudice. The movie came just shy of breaking even at the US box office but earned over 400% return on investment in global revenue.

Her later movie Mistress of Spices, written by Gurinder Chadha and her husband Paul Mayeda Berges from the novel by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and directed by Berges, was released in the U.K. in April 2006 to a generally poor critical and commercial reception. Aishwarya Rai has several other international, English-language films in the pipeline, including Provoked, The Last Legion, Singularity, and Chaos.

The song "Kajra Re", which Aishwarya Rai performed in the film Bunty Aur Babli, was voted best song of 2005 and best choreographed song of 2005 in a poll by the Hindustan Times. Aishwarya Rai appeared at the Closing Ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, as part of a performance showcasing Indian culture, on behalf of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, to be held in New Delhi.

Aishwarya Rai began dating Salman Khan, her co-star from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, after the filming of that movie. Their breakup a few years later generated a substantial amount of press attention; a police report from Rai's parents turned up alleging that Khan had smashed windows and furniture at their home, and an inebriated Khan subsequently assaulted Rai on the set of a movie she was working on, soon before he was arrested for drunk driving and vehicular homicide.

Aishwarya Rai later had a brief relationship with Abhishek Bachchan, with whom she had co-starred in Kuch Naa Kaho. Aishwarya Rai was reported to have broken up with Bachchan in April 2006.

Aishwarya Rai has been described by others in the Bollywood film industry as having traditional values and being "a paragon of age-old, dutiful Indian femininity".

As a practicing Hindu, she has described herself as having "immense faith in God", and when at home she attends the Siddhivinayak Mandir, devoted to Lord Ganesh. When not on the road, Rai lives in Mumbai with her parents.
Awards :

- 2000, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
- 2003, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Devdas

Aishwarya Rai has been nominated four times in the Best Actress category and once in the Best Supporting Actress category at the Filmfare Awards.

Aishwarya Rai has also won three IIFA Awards, three Z-Gold Awards, four Star Screen Awards, an EU's Global Diversity Award, three Zee Cine Awards and a Rajiv Gandhi Award.