Aishwarya Rai Biography

Aishwarya Rai (born November 1, 1973) is a Bollywood actress and model. She won the Miss World competition in 1994. Her films are mostly in the Hindi language.

Biography

As a model, Ms. Rai has appeared in many Indian fashion magazines, including the Indian Vogue; she is currently featured in international ads for L'Oréal Paris, DeBeers Diamonds, and Coca-Cola.

Aishwarya Rai won the Miss World title in 1994 at the age of 20. On the crest of the ensuing publicity, she became an actress, and her debut in Mani Rathnam's Iruvar (1997) was a critical success. She soon became one of the highest-paid actresses in Bollywood, starring in hits from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam to Taal and Devdas. She has also acted in films for the Tamil-speaking regional film industry, such as Kandukondain Kandukondain, and for the Bengali film industry, in Chokher Bali.

Devdas, a lavishly-produced mega-hit, brought her into the international limelight. It was the first-ever Bollywood picture to receive a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival.

In 2003 Rai was a member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2004, she was chosen as one of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. Rai was the subject of a 60 Minutes profile on January 2, 2005; the profile called her "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World." A month later she appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman, and on April 25, 2005, Aishwarya 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.

Gossip columns had frequently buzzed with news that Rai was being considered for high-profile Hollywood productions, but the job offers never materialized, until indie director Gurinder Chadha hired Aishwarya to play the heroine of Bride and Prejudice, a Hollywood-funded but Bollywood-ized version of Jane Austen's classic novel, Pride and Prejudice. The film has been a modest success in U.K. and U.S. cinemas, and may be a harbinger of more Hollywood offers for Rai.

Upcoming movies including tentaive international projects are: Rolland Joffe's Singularity opposite Brendan Fraser, Provoked, directed by Jas Mundhra, and offers with Brad Pitt and Michael Douglas.

Trivia: Aishwarya Rai can recite 200 digits of pi!

Filmography