Aishwarya Rai, also known as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, is an Indian actress and model who won the 1994 Miss World Contest. During her acting career, she has established herself as one of the most famous celebrities in the world. most popular and influential in India. Rai has received numerous awards, including two Filmfare Awards of eleven nominations, and received the Padma Shri from the Indian government in 2009 and the Order of Arts and Letters from the French government in 2012. She has been frequently quoted in the media as “the most beautiful woman in the world”.

Rai was born on November 1, 1973 in a Toulouse family speaking tuluva bunt in Mangaluru, Karnataka. His father, Krishnaraj, who died on March 18, 2017, was an army biologist, while his mother, Brinda, was a housewife. She has an older brother, Aditya Rai, who is an engineer in the merchant marine. Rai’s film, Dil Ka Rishta (2003) was co-produced by his brother and co-written by his mother. The family moved to Mumbai, where Rai attended Arya Vidya Mandir High School. Rai graduated from Jai Hind College for one year, then joined DG Ruparel College in Matunga, obtaining 90% of the HSC exams.

She trained in classical dance and music for five years during her teenage years. Her favorite subject was zoology, so she first considered a career in medicine. Then, with the intention of becoming an architect, she enrolled at the Rachana Sansad Academy of Architecture, but then dropped out of school to pursue a career in modeling.

In college, Rai did some modeling work. After appearances in several television commercials, she participated in the Miss India contest, in which she placed second. She was then crowned Miss World 1994, after which she began to receive offers to act in the cinema. She made her debut in the Iranian film Iruvar by Mani Ratnam in 1997 and had her first Hindi film debut at Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya the same year. Her first commercial success was the Tamil Jeans Romantic Drama (1998), after which she achieved greater success and won two best actress awards at Filmfare for her performances in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and Devdas (2002) .

Rai has been critically appraised for portraying a passionate artist in the Tamil novel Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000), Tagore’s hero Binodini in the Bengali movie Chokher Bali (2003), a depressed woman in the Raincoat drama (2004) , Kiranjit Ahluwalia in the British dramatic film Provoked (2006) and nurse of the drama Guzaarish (2010). Rai’s biggest commercial hits have been the novel Mohabbatein (2000), the adventure movie Dhoom 2 (2006), the historical novel Jodhaa Akbar (2008), the science fiction film Enthiran (2010) and the romantic drama Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016).

Rai married actor Abhishek Bachchan in 2007 with whom she has a daughter. Off-screen features include brand ambassador functions for many charity organizations and campaigns. She is a goodwill ambassador for the Joint United Nations Program on AIDS (UNAIDS). In 2003, she was the first Indian actress to be a member of the jury of the Cannes Film Festival.

Personal life

In 1999, Rai began dating Bollywood actor Salman Khan; their relationship was often reported in the media until the separation of the couple in 2002. Rai cited “Khan’s (verbal, physical and emotional) abuse, infidelity and unworthiness” to end to the relationship.

Although they both appeared in Dhai Akshar Prem Ke (in which her long-time boyfriend, Salman Khan, made a brief appearance) and Kuch Naa Kaho, Abhishek Bachchan fell in love with Rai during the filming of Dhoom 2 Their commitment was announced on January 14, 2007 and later confirmed by his father, Amitabh Bachchan. The couple married on April 20, 2007 according to the traditional Hindu rites of the Bunt community, to which it belongs. North Indian and Bengali token ceremonies were also performed. The wedding took place at a private ceremony at Bachchan Residence, “Prateeksha”, in Juhu, Mumbai. They have been described as a supercouple in Indian media. Rai is very close to her family and lived with them in Bandra, Mumbai until her marriage.

Rai is Hindu and deeply religious. Her international presence came when Abhishek Bachchan accompanied her to the Cannes Film Festival shortly after their wedding, and then to the Oprah Winfrey Show on September 28, 2009. They were described as being more famous than Brangelina.

Rai gave birth to a daughter, Aaradhya, on November 16, 2011. The nicknames “Ash” and “Aish” are commonly used by fans and the media. She discouraged people to refer to her by names other than “Aishwarya” because she does not want to “spoil her name”