Aishwarya Rai is one of Bollywood's pre-eminent leading ladies. This Indian darling burst upon the world stage when her striking beauty, poise and commanding intelligence won her the Miss World crown in 1994. This former architecture major soon became one of India's most famous models landing a prestigious Pepsi campaign and appearing in Vogue Magazine. India's top Bollywood directors were soon lining up to work with Ash. Her film debut in Mani Rathnam's 'Iruvar' (1997) received critical acclaim and her performance in Rahul Rawail's '…Aur Paar Ho Gaya' (1997) garnered her the Best Female Debutante Award. In 2000 she was awarded Best Actress by FilmFare and Zee Cine for her work in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam", in that same year, nominated for Best SUPPORTING Actress for her special appearance in Aditya Chopra's MOHABBATEIN. In 2001 Ash was nominated for FilmFare's Best Actress Award for Satish Kaushik's "Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai".


Ash's star continued to rise in 2002 working again with Sajay Leela Bhansali in 'Devdas'. 'Devdas' is the most ambitious and most successful film in Bollywood history. It became the first Bollywood picture to ever receive a special screening at this year's Cannes Film Festival and broke box-office records in India and the United States. Daily Variety's (06/12/02) Derek Elley describes 'Devdas' as "some of the most sumptuous production values in Bollywood history…" Elley describes Ash as "almost Audrey Hepburn-like", Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann says "I loved her in Devdas" and Julia Roberts calls her "the world's most beautiful woman".

2003 brought even more exciting opportunities. Ash became the first Indian actor to be a member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival. Ash is also the latest member of the elite L'Oreal Dream Team, joining beauties Catherine Deneuve & Andie MacDowell as their international ambassador. She graced the covers of India Today and the prestigious TIME Magazine. Time Magazine has also listed her on their list of the “100 Most Influential People in the World Today”. She has graced numerous covers worldwide including USA, UK, CHINA, RUSSIA, ISRAEL, UNITED EMERITES, ITALY, SPAIN and FRANCE. Ash was also listed on Rolling Stone Magazine's annual "Hot List", Hello Magazine’s Most Attractive Women in the World”, Stuff Magazine, FHM magazine, V-Life from Variety Magazine, GQ Magazine, New York Times Magazine, Harper’s & Queen and countless others.

2004 saw Aishwarya take on the leading role in her first English language film for Gurinder Chadha in “Bride & Prejudice”. She also became the first Indian female to be immortalized in wax at the world famous Madame Tussaud’s wax museum in London.
2005 started with appearances on “60 Minutes”, “David Letterman Show” and the most watched television program in the world the “Oprah Winfrey Show”; Aishwarya’s career continues to grow even stronger - she will soon be seen in Mistress of Spices for director Paul Berges, Jag Mundhra’s Provoked, Sanjay Gadhvi’s Dhoom 2 and legendary film producer Dino De Laurentiis’s Last Legion opposite Colin Firth and Sir Ben Kingsley. The Queen of Bollywood is already becoming the talk of tinseltown and is currently in negotiations on two major motion pictures.

Filmography 1997 : Iruvar by Mani Ratnam (in Tamil) (Telugu title: Iddaru)

1997 : Aur Pyar Ho Gaya by Rahul Rawail

1998 : Jeans by S. Shankar (in Tamil)

1999 : Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam by Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Filmfare Best Actress Award)

1999 : Aa Ab Laut Chalein by Rishi Kapoor

1999 : Taal by Subhash Ghai

2000 : Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai by Satish Kaushik

2000 : Mohabbatein by Aditya Chopra (cameo)

2000 : Dhai Akshar Prem Ke by Raj Kanwa

2000 : Josh by Mansoor Khan

2000 : Kandukondain Kandukondain by Rajiv Menon (in Tamil)

2000 : Sanam Tere Hain Hum by Jayant Paranji (special appearance)

2001 : Albela by Deepak Sareen

2002 : Devdas by Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Filmfare Best Actress Award)

2002 : Hum Kisise Kum Nahin by David Dhawan

2002 : Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam by K.S. Adiyaman (special appearance)

2002 : 23rd March 1931 : Shaheed by Guddu Dhanoa

2002 : Shakti (movie) by Krishna Vamshi (special appearance)

2003 : Kuch Na Kaho by Rohan Sippy

2002 : Nee Kidappen Njan Adippen: The Power by Krishna Vamshi

2003 : Dil Ka Rishta by Naresh Malhotra

2003 : Chokher Bali by Rituparno Ghosh (in Bengali)

2003 : Khakee by Rajkumar Santoshi

2004 : Kyun...! Ho Gaya Na by Samir Karnik

2004 : Bride and Prejudice by Gurinder Chadha (in English)

2004 : Raincoat by Rituparno Ghosh

2005 : Shabd by Leena Yadav

2005 : Bunty Aur Babli by Shaad Ali (special appearance)

2005 : The Heart of India by Ganapathy Bharat (in English)

2005 : Mistress of Spices by Paul Mayeda Berges (in English)

2006 : Provoked by Jagmohan Mundhra (in English) (filming)

2006 : Dhoom 2 by Sanjay Gadhvi (filming)

2006 : Umrao Jaan by J.P. Dutta (filming)

2006 : Singularity by Roland Joffé (in English)

2006 : Akbar-Jodha by Ashutosh Gowariker (pre-production)

2006 : The Last Legion by Doug Lefler (in English)

2006: "Chaos" by Coline Serreau (in English)

2006 : Indie Pop by Miko Reyes (pre-production)

2006 : Guru by Mani Ratnam (announced)

Aishwarya Rai Photo Gallery

Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya Rai

International Stardom Devdas, in which Aishwarya joined Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit, was a huge hit, lavishly produced as it was. The film attracted overseas attention as well, receiving a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival.

Rai was becoming an international star rather than simply a Bollywood one. In 2003, Rai was a member of the jury at Cannes. In 2004, she was chosen by TIME Magazine's Asian Edition as one of Asia's "100 Most Influential People." Rai was the subject of a 60 Minutes profile on January 2, 2005 - "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World." A month later she appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman, and on April 25, 2005, she 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.

Although frequently the subject of gossip column speculation about an imminent Hollywood career, it was only in 2004 that Rai finally acted in a foreign film. British director Gurinder Chadha hired her to play the heroine in Bride and Prejudice, a Hollywood-funded but Bollywood-ized version of Jane Austen's classic novel, Pride and Prejudice. The movie did well at the box office and Aishwarya's Hollywood profile rose a notch.

Rai is now said to be signed for another Hollywood movie, Rolland Joffe's project Singularity. She will star opposite Brendan Fraser.

She is in the cast for The Last Legion co-starring Colin Firth and Ben Kingsley.

She recently (summer of 2005) completed filming on director Jagmohan Mundhra's film Provoked. She is co-starring with Nandita Das. The film was shot mainly in Britain.

Profesion	Actress & Model
Nick Name	Aishu
Also Known As	Aish
Date of Birth	November 1, 1973
Zodiac Sign	Scorpio
Place of Birth	Mangalore, India
Height	5' 7"
Weight	122 lbs
Eyes	Blue-Green
Favorite Car	Mercedes
Favorite Film	Casablanca
Fluent in	English, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil & Urdu
Food Habits	Not fussy about food at all.
She Loves	Honesty, Family, Friends, Dignity, strength of character, and Chocolates!
She Dislikes	Gossip, hypocrisy & Cockroaches.
Her Dream Man	Real!
Idea of Love	What her parents share
Worst Weakness	Willingness to take people at face value.
Best Strength	Self assurance
Best Quality	Genuineness! Nothing about her is plastic
Philosophy	It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice
Favorite Perfume	Sporty colognes for the day while working. Exotic, oriental and woody fragrances for the evenings
Turn On's	Razor sharp intelligence, witty repartees.
Idea of Sexy	A combo of vulnerability and intelligence.
She Admires	Strength of charector
She Bbelieves in	God above everything else and then herself
Family	Father: Krishnaraj Rai Mother: Vrinda Rai Brother: Aditya Rai
Favorite Compliment	A child at an orphanage told her that her warmth over shines her beauty. Also, that she is "REAL" inside and out.
Favorite Colors	White & Blue
Favorite Actor	A.B, Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor
Favorite Actress	Madhubala & Nargis
Education	Arya Vidya Mandir, Santacruz, Bombay, India
Academic Record	Excellent
College	DG Ruparel College, Matunga, Bombay, India
Message	Life’s a stage, and we’re all characters. So play your part and play it well!

Trivia Was positioned at number 3 in the Filmfare Top Ten Actress' List.[1]

Praised by several people, including Julia Roberts ([2], [3]) and film critic Roger Ebert ([4]) as the most beautiful woman in the world.

Canadian supermodel Linda Evangelista is reported to have called her "stunning".

She is said to have been offered a stint as a runway model for Roberto Cavalli.

Is the highest paid actress in the Bollywood film industry.

India Times named Aishwarya #1 on the list of the "100 Most Beautiful Indian Women in the Past Century".

Was featured in the 2004 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records.

L'Oréal signed her as its new international brand ambassador, on April 2003.

Was placed number seven on "The World’s 101 Sexiest Celebrity Bodies On Earth".

Is fluent in languages such as English, Hindi, Kannada, and Tamil.
Awards

2005	2005 Zee Cine Awards - Critics' Actress of the Year
2004	World's Most Attractive Woman - HELLO! Magazine
2003	Screen Best Actress Award Devdas
2003	Screen Jodi No.1 Award with Shahrukh Khan
2003	Zee Cine Best Actress Award Devdas
2003	True Indian Actress Award
2002	RACE Best Actress Award Devdas
2002	Rajiv Gandhi Award
2001	BWSX Fantasy Award for Best Supporting Actress Mohabbatein
2000	Screen Videocon Best Actress Award Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
2000	Filmfare Best Actress Award Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
2000	Stardust Millennium Best Actress Award Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
2000	Zee Lux Face of the Year
2000	Zee Cine Best Actress Award Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
2000	IIFA Best Actress Award Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
2000	Zee Gold Best Actress Award Taal
2000	Zee Gold Best Actress Critics Award Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
2000	Rupa Filmgoers Millennium Best Actress Award Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
2000	Priyadarshini International Best Actress Award Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
2000	Most Beautiful International Titleholder of All Times Gold medal winner
2000	Most Beautiful Miss World of All Times -received a perfect score of 9.911

Debut Film: Iruvar

Famous Movies: Bunty Aur Babli, The Heart of India, Shabd, Bride & Prejudice, Kyun...Ho Gaya Na, Raincoat, Khakee, Kuch Naa Kaho, Chokher Bali, Dil Ka Rishta, Shakti: The Power, 23rd March 1931: Shaheed, Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin, Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam, Devdas, Albela, Mohabbatein, Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke, Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai, Josh, Kandukondain Kandukondain, Mela, Sanam Tere Hain Hum, Ravoyi Chandamama, Taal, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Aa Ab Laut Chalen, Jeans, Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya, Iruvar

Latest Movies: Bunty Aur Babli, Shabd, Bride & Prejudice

Upcoming Movies: Singularity, Saamna, Racing the Monsoon, Chaos, The Last Legion, Windfall, Provoked, Mistress of Spices
Other Facts: She also knows classical dance