Aishwarya Rai
Birth name:	Aishwarya Rai
Date of birth:	November 1, 1973 (age 32)
Birth location:	Mangalore, India
Official site:	www.aishwaryaworld.com
Notable role(s):	Umrao Jaan (2006) Devdas (2002)

Aishwarya Rai (born November 1, 1973) is an Indian actress and former fashion model, said to be one of the highest-paid actresses in India.^[1] She was awarded the Miss World title in 1994. Aishwarya Rai has also acted in a couple of Tamil films as well as Telugu, Bengali and English films. She is 5 foot 7 inches tall and weighs 122 pounds.^[2]

Early life

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 ancestors are from the Bunt community of Mangalore. Her family later relocated to Mumbai. Rai has one brother, Aditya Rai, who is three years older than she is. Aditya is a film producer, and has occasionally produced films in which Rai acted.

Rai's native language is Tulu; she also speaks Hindi, English, Marathi, Urdu, Kannada, and Tamil.

Rai attended the Arya Vidya Mandir at Santacruz, Mumbai, then entered Ruparel College, Matunga, Mumbai. She was an A student and was on track to become an architect.^[3]

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, she then worked as a professional model, in advertising and Indian fashion magazines.

International stardom

In 2002, Rai appeared with Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit in the lavishly produced Devdas, which was a major box-office success. The film attracted overseas attention as well, receiving a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival, garnering international attention for Rai.

In 2003, Rai was a member of the jury at Cannes. In 2004, she was chosen by TIME Magazine's Asian Edition as one of Asia's "100 Most Influential People." She was the subject of a 60 Minutes profile on January 2, 2005 - "The Most Beautiful face in the World." A month later she appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman, and on April 25, 2005, she was featured on Oprah's "Women Across the Globe" segment. A wax figure of Rai is on display in London's Madame Tussaud's wax museum.

Although frequently the subject of gossip column speculation about an imminent Hollywood career, it was only in 2004 that 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 next overseas venture, 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 milder critical and commercial reception but rave reviews in Middle East and Asia. ^[4] Aishwarya has several other international, English-language films in the pipeline, including Provoked, and The Last Legion.

The song "Kajra Re", which 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. ^[5] 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. For her three-minute dance performance, Rai was reportedly paid three crore rupees, the equivalent of about 600,000 U.S. dollars. Aishwarya also performed the much loved 'Kajra Re' at the Iffa awards held in Amsterdam.

In 2006, Rai was the Internet's most widely searched model.^[6] She is referenced in a number of Indian dating profiles written by men. There are approximately 3 million websites that are either dedicated to her or reference her in some way.

Personal life

Aishwarya Rai prefers not to talk to the media about her personal life. All the details mentioned in this section are based on what was reported by the media and have not been confirmed by Ms Rai, except as otherwise indicated.

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.

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".^[7] As a practicing Hindu, she has described herself as having "immense faith in its gods", ^[8] and when at home she attends the Siddhivinayak Mandir, devoted to Lord Ganesh. ^[9] When not on the road, Rai lives in Mumbai with her parents.

Awards

Rai has won two Filmfare Awards to date:

• 2000, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
• 2003, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Chokher Bali

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

When the IFFA awards took place in Amsterdam, Aishwarya had a breed of tulip named after her as well.

Filmography