Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an actress and former beauty queen best known for her work in Bollywood. Born in Mangalore, India, Rai was raised in Mumbai alongside her older brother. She spent her childhood studying classical Indian dance and later studied at D.G. Ruparel College. She briefly enrolled in architecture courses at Rachana Sansad Academy of Architecture before eventually leaving school to pursue modeling full time.

Rai’s rise to fame began after winning the Miss World title in 1994, which made her an international star and one of India’s most recognizable public figures. She launched her acting career in the late 1990s with roles in Iruvar (1997) and Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya (1997) before her breakout in the 1999 musical Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Her performances in films like Mohabbatein (2000) and Devdas (2002) established her as one of Bollywood’s leading actresses throughout the 2000s.

She went on to star in movies like Dhoom 2 (2006), Guru (2007), Jodhaa Akbar (2008), Sarbjit (2016) and Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022) and its sequel. She also crossed over into Hollywood with appearances in Bride & Prejudice (2004), The Mistress of Spices (2005) and The Pink Panther 2 (2009).

Rai dated actor Salman Khan from 1999 to 2002 before later becoming involved with actor Abhishek Bachchan. The pair married in April 2007 and welcomed daughter Aaradhya Bachchan in 2011.