Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Biography

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an international triple threat: model, beauty pageant queen, and movie star. She is one of the 21st-century superstars of “Bollywood,” the Indian film industry.

Aishwarya Rai was a college student when she entered and won the 1994 Miss World contest, an honor which opened the door to work as a model. A striking brunette with hooded eyes and full lips, she appeared on the covers of Cosmopolitan, Elle, and other fashion magazines. Her first film was the 1997 political drama Iruvar. As Bollywood underwent an explosion of success and innovation, Rai became one of its favorite daughters. She proved to be a voluptuous presence in the mode of Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida; like Lollobrigida, Rai was often hyped as “the most beautiful woman in the world.”

Her 2002 film Devdas was a tremendous hit and established her as India’s leading lady. Rai continued to work mainly in Indian films, but on occasion she has appeared in Western productions, including Bride and Prejudice (2004, a colorful take on the Jane Austen tale) and Mistress of Spices (2005). Her other films include the romance Jodhaa Akbar (2008), the sci-fi epic Enthiran (2010), the drama Guzaarish (2010) and Sarbjit (2016), a biopic of Indian farmer and maybe-spy Sarabjit Singh.

Aishwarya Rai married actor Abhishek Bachchan on 20 April 2007, and took Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as her professional name. The wedding was a spectacular event in India; as noted by Agence France Presse, “The couple have been dubbed ‘India’s Brangelina’ after Hollywood’s A-list couple, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.” Their daughter, Aaradhya Bachchan, was born on November 16, 2011.