Aishwarya Rai

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Biography for
Aishwarya Rai
Nickname:
Ash
Aishu
Gullu
The Queen of Bollywood
Height
5' 7" (1.70 m)
Mini biography
Born in a traditional south Indian family, Aishwarya started modelling at a young age. This green-blue eyed beauty stole ads for many prestigious firms, the ones which brought her into the limelight were the garden sari and the pepsi ad. Crowned Miss femina '94 runner up, she was a hot favorite to win the miss world title, which she did ! Her beauty and charm made her India's darling. Ash has now stormed into the bollywood movie industry where she's out to prove that she make a good actress too! Her performance in Iruvar (1997) was critically approved and she bagged the screen best female debutant award for her role in ...Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya (1997). With more than a handful prestigious projects expected to be released it would be difficult to ignore her !


Mini biography
Aishwarya was an architecture student before she entered modelling as her part time job. She was best known for her Pepsi commercial with 'Mahima Chaudhary' . With her green gray eyes, she was already approached by big names in India's film industry to star in films. She rejected the film offers since she aimed to be an architect. However, fate had other things in store for her after she was crowned Miss World 1994. Soon after her winning, again she received offers to star in movies. In Southern Indian, she was best known for her role as Madhumita/Veishnavi in Jeans (1998) and Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000). She bagged Filmfare Award for best actress for her performance in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) as Ajay Devgan's wife who is in love with another man. She also won rave reviews for her performance as a rape victim in Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai (2000).

Trade mark
Her blue-green eyes
Trivia
Wanted to study medicine, but circumstances prevented her.

Miss World 1994

Dated Salman Khan.

Was offered Rani Mukherjee's role in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

Runner up, Miss India 1994

Ambassador for Longines watches since 1999

Daughter of Vrinda Rai

Sister of Aditya Rai

April 2003: Suffered an accident on the sets of Khakee (2004) when a car driven by a stuntman got out of control, hit her, took her down a crevice and slammed her into a cactus plant. She broke a bone in one foot and suffered severe cuts. She was rushed to a hospital. The incident rekindled the discussion about poor safety standards on Bollywood film sets.

The first Indian actress to be on the jury of the Cannes International Film Festival

Has made over 50 music videos in only seven years.

Despite the fact that she is adorned in jewelry in her music videos and movies, she is apparently not too fond of it.

Is the highest paid actress in Bollywood.

Created a frenzy at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival when she arrived at the premiere of her film Devdas (2002) in a coach and wearing a beautiful yellow-orange embroidered sari.

Was originally cast in the role of Jwala in the film _Rising, The (2005)_ , but dropped out before filming started due to contract problems. The role was later given to Amisha Patel.

Loves collecting watches.

Made her first commercial for Camlin pencils when she was in the 9th grade.

Was the Coca Cola Girl for the Middle Eastern countries.

Favorite subject in college was Zoology.

Has achieved icon status all over South Asia.

Is featured in the Guinness Book of World Records 2004.

In a poll conducted by Hello Magazine, she was voted number one as the most attractive woman of 2003, beating actresses such as Nicole Kidman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Gwyneth Paltrow.

In April of 2003, L'Oreal signed her as its new international brand ambassador.

The first Bollywood star to appear in Rolling Stone magazine (Issue 932, October 2, 2003)

Gained 20 pounds for Bride & Prejudice (2004) because she didn't want her character to look like some super model and also felt that it would add a sense of realism to the character.

Is a Bunt, like fellow-actors Shilpa Shetty and Sunil Shetty. The Bunts are a South Indian community who mainly speak Tulu, which is Aishwarya's mother tongue.

Turned down the lead in Munnabhai M.B.B.S. (2003). The role was given to Gracy Singh.

Turned down the role of Mastani in the film _Bajirao Mastani (2005)_ .

The first movie star she ever met was Rekha. Aishwarya was still in high school at the time and was a model. While at a grocery store with her mother, Aishwarya was tapped on the shoulder by none other than Rekha herself. Rekha recognized Aishwarya from her modeling ads. She complimented the young Aishwarya on her good looks and wished her all the best.

Is fluent in the languages English, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil and Urdu.

Receives at least two movie offers every day.

Was originally intended for the role of Priya in the film Chalte Chalte (2003).

Aamir Khan and Aishwarya Rai are the only stars to advertise for both Coca Cola and Pepsi.

Before she was famous, she auditioned for voice dubbing for a television serial, and was rejected.

Shahrukh Khan recommended her to play Kaurwaki in the film Asoka (2001). But the director wanted to cast someone who hadn't already been paired with Shahrukh as a leading lady.

After winning the title of Miss World in 1994, the host of the event, Richard Steinmetz, actually asked Aishwarya out. But being a professional, she refused right away.

Sued the magazine 'Star and Style' for a sum of Rs 2 crores for printing an article claiming that actress Raveena Tandon had caught her and Akshay Kumar in a compromising position at the pool side of a five star hotel.

During the filming of the music video 'Dola Re Dola' from the movie Devdas (2002), Aishwarya's ears were bleeding due to the heavy earrings she had to wear. But she continued to shoot anyway.

Is a trained classical dancer. She learnt classical dance and music for five years while in her teens.

Has a puppy named Sunshine, which was given to her as a gift by friend 'Vivek Oberoi' .

Won the title of "Miss Photogenic" in the 1994 Miss World Pageant.

Has won over 50 awards since 1994 when she was 20.

Is good friends with actress Preity Zinta.

Has gained a cult following in Pakistan.

Was listed in Time magazine as one of 100 most influential people in the world (The 2004 TIME 100).

Ran the Olympic-torch relay in June 2004.

Turned down a role in _Myth, The (2005)_ due to her touring schedule. The role was eventually given to Mallika Sherawat.

Has refused to work with Salman Khan after their break-up, in spite of several offers.

Has over 17,000 websites dedicated to her.

In 2004, Aishwarya became the first Bollywood and Indian actress to have her own statue at London's Madame Tussauds museum.

On January 2nd, she became the first Indian actress to be interviewed on 60 Minutes (1968).

Voted #9 in 'Harpers and Queen' magazine list of 100 most beautiful women of today. (Harpers and Queen, June 6, 2005)

A tulip produced in 2005 was named for her.

Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003

When Oprah Winfrey saw Aishwarya's interview on '60 Minutes', she was so fascinated by her that she got a hold of Ash and invited her to be a guest on her show. On April 25, 2005 Aishwarya became the first Indian and South Asian actress to be featured on The Oprah Show.

Turned down the role of Briseis in the film Troy (2004).

Director Andy Tennant offered her a part in Hitch (2005), but she turned it down because she was so busy with other films.

Turned down the role of Anna in Barsaat (2005).

In the summer of 2005, Mattel released Limited Edition Barbie dolls inspired by Aishwarya and her costumes. They were released only in England and sold out within minutes. These dolls are now considered rare collectibles among fans.

Aishwarya Rai's imdb bio