Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (née Rai; born 1 November 1973) is an Indian actress who is primarily known for her work in Hindi and Tamil films. The winner of the Miss World 1994 pageant, she later has established herself as one of the most popular and influential celebrities in India. Rai has received numerous accolades, including two Filmfare Awards, and was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2009 and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France in 2012. She has often been cited in the media as “the most beautiful woman in the world”.
While in college, Rai did a few modelling jobs. Following appearances in several television commercials, she entered the Miss India pageant, in which she placed second. She was then crowned Miss World 1994, after which she began receiving offers to act in film. She made her acting debut in Mani Ratnam’s 1997 Tamil film Iruvar and had her first Hindi film release in Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya that same year. Her first commercial success was the Tamil romantic drama Jeans (1998), which was the most expensive Indian film at the time. She achieved wider success and won two Filmfare Awards for Best Actress for her performances in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s romantic dramas Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and Devdas (2002).
Rai garnered critical appreciation for portraying a passionate artist in the Tamil romance film Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000), Tagore’s heroine, Binodini, in the Bengali film Chokher Bali (2003), a depressed woman in the drama Raincoat (2004), Kiranjit Ahluwalia in the British drama film Provoked (2006), and a nurse in Bhansali’s drama Guzaarish (2010). Rai’s greatest commercial successes have been the romantic drama Mohabbatein (2000), the adventure film Dhoom 2 (2006), the drama Guru (2007), the period film Jodhaa Akbar (2008), the science fiction film Enthiran (2010), the romantic drama Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016), and the period films Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022) and Ponniyin Selvan: II (2023).
Rai married actor Abhishek Bachchan in 2007; the couple have one daughter. Her off-screen roles include duties as a brand ambassador for several charity organisations and campaigns. She is a Goodwill Ambassador for the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS). In 2003, she was the first Indian actress to be a jury member at the Cannes Film Festival.
Early life
Rai was born on 1 November 1973 into a Tulu-speaking Bunt family in Mangalore, Karnataka. Her father, Krishnaraj, who died on 18 March 2017, was an Army biologist, while her mother, Vrinda, is a housewife. She has one elder brother, Aditya Rai, who is an engineer in the merchant navy. Rai’s movie Dil Ka Rishta (2003) was co-produced by her brother and co-written by her mother. The family moved to Mumbai, where Rai attended the Arya Vidya Mandir High School. Rai did her intermediate schooling at Jai Hind College for a year, and then joined DG Ruparel College in Matunga, securing 90 percent in the HSC exams.
She trained in classical dance and music for five years during her teens. Her favourite subject was zoology, and she initially considered a career in medicine. Then, with plans to become an architect, she enrolled at Rachana Sansad Academy of Architecture, but later gave up her education to pursue a career in modelling.
Personal life
In 1999, Rai began dating Bollywood actor Salman Khan; their relationship was often reported in the media until the couple separated in 2002. Rai cited “abuse (verbal, physical and emotional), infidelity and indignity” on the part of Khan as reasons for ending the relationship. She then had a romantic relationship with actor Vivek Oberoi before they broke-up in 2005.
Though they both appeared in Dhai Akshar Prem Ke (in which her then longtime boyfriend, Salman Khan, had a brief cameo) and Kuch Naa Kaho, Abhishek Bachchan fell in love with Rai whilst filming Dhoom 2. Their engagement was announced on 14 January 2007 and later confirmed by his father, Amitabh Bachchan. The couple married on 20 April 2007 according to traditional Hindu rites of the Bunt community, to which she belongs. North Indian and Bengali ceremonies were also performed. The wedding took place in a private ceremony at the Bachchan residence, “Prateeksha”, in Juhu, Mumbai. They have been described in the Indian media as a supercouple. Rai is very close to her family, and lived with them in Bandra, Mumbai, until her marriage.
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Rai is Hindu and deeply religious. Her international presence shot up when Abhishek Bachchan accompanied her to the Cannes Film festival shortly after their marriage, and later to The Oprah Winfrey Show, appearing on 28 September 2009. They were described as being more famous as a couple than Brangelina.
Rai gave birth to a girl, on 16 November 2011. Rai is commonly referred to by fans and the media by the nicknames “Ash” and “Aish”, but has stated that she dislikes being called as such. She has discouraged people from referring to her by names other than “Aishwarya” as she does not want to “spoil good name”.
On 12 July 2020, Rai and her daughter were reported to have tested positive for COVID-19. On 17 July, they were reported to have been hospitalized. Rai and her daughter recovered and were discharged from the hospital on 27 July 2020.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Height Weight Age Bra Size Affairs Family Biography
| Bio | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (after marriage) |
| Nickname | Ash, Gullu |
| Profession(s) | Actress and Model |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (approx.) | in centimeters- 170 cm in meters- 1.70 m in Feet Inches- 5′ 7” |
| Weight (approx.) | in Kilograms- 56 kg in Pounds- 123 lbs |
| Figure Measurements (approx.) | 34-26-36 |
| Eye Colour | Hazel Green Blue |
| Hair Colour | Black |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 1 November 1973 |
| Age (as of 2023) | 50 Years |
| Birthplace | Mangalore, Karnataka, India |
| Zodiac sign | Scorpio |
| Signature | |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| School | Arya Vidya Mandir, Mumbai |
| College | Jai Hind College, Mumbai D. G. Ruparel College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Mumbai |
| Educational Qualifications | College dropout |
| Debut | Film Debut: Iruvar (1997, Tamil film) Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya (1997, Bollywood film) |
| Family | Father– Krishnaraj Rai (Army biologist) Mother– Vrinda Rai (Homemaker) Brother– Aditya Rai (Engineer in merchant navy) Sister– N/A Father-in-law– Amitabh Bachchan (Actor) Mother-in-law– Jaya Bachchan (Actress) |
| Religion | Hindu |
| Address | Jalsa, B/2, Kapol Housing Society, VL Mehta Road, Juhu, Mumbai Villa in Sanctuary Falls in Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai |
| Hobbies | Knitting, collecting watches and reading |
| Controversies | • Sued Star and Style magazine: In 1996, she sued the Star and Style magazine for an amount of 20 million (2 crore INR) for publishing that actress Raveena Tandon had caught her and Akshay Kumar in a compromising position at the poolside of a 5 star hotel. • Relationship with Salman Khan: Her relationship with Salman Khan from 1999 to 2001 was controverial, and after her break-up she said that she faced abuse (verbal, physical and emotional) from Salman Khan. • Shakti Kapoor said Aishwarya traded sexual favours: After the casting couch sting operation of Shakti Kapoor in 2005, he said that Aishwarya had traded sexual favors for a spot in Subhash Ghai’s movies. But, later he apologized for his words and considered it as a result of his anger. • Panama Papers case: In December 2021, she was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Panama papers. The actress was alleged to have slashed wealth abroad. After ‘The Panama Papers’ case made headlines in 2016, the agency started investigating alleged forex violations in 2017 and issued notices to the Bachchan family asking them to explain their foreign remittances since 2004 under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) of the Reserve Bank of India. On 21 December 2021, the actress appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for recording her statement. According to the agency, Ms. bachchan was the director of One British Virgin Islands-based company that was set up in 2005 and dissolved in 2008. |
| Favourites | |
| Food | Chicken Curry and Chocolates |
| Actor | Amitabh Bachchan and Raj Kapoor |
| Actress | Nargis |
| Film | Hollywood: Casablanca (1942) |
| Directors | Mani Ratnam and Sanjay Leela Bhansali |
| Book | The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho |
| Color | Black, Blue and White |
| Perfume | Happy by Clinique |
| Fashion Designer | Giorgio Armani |
| Travel Destination(s) | France, Dubai, and South Africa |
| Boys, Affairs and More | |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Affairs/Boyfriends | Rajeev Mulchandani (Model) Salman Khan (1999-2001) Vivek Oberoi (Actor) Abhishek Bachchan (Actor) |
| Husband | Abhishek Bachchan, Actor (2007-present) |
| Marriage Date | 20 April 2007 |
| Children | Son– N/A Daughter– Aaradhya (born in 2011) |
| Style Quotient | |
| Cars Collection | Audi A8 |
| Expensive Things/Valuables | She has a collection dof luxury watches including Dolce Vita collection (priced at Rs 9 lakhs) |
| Money Factor | |
| Salary (approx.) | 9-10 crore/film (INR) |
| Net Worth (approx.) | $35 million |
Success with intermittent work
Rai’s final release of 2016 was Karan Johar’s musical romantic drama Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, alongside Anushka Sharma and Ranbir Kapoor, in which she played the role of a poet named Saba. Rai received positive reviews for her performance, despite having limited screen time. Joe Leydon of Variety considered her to be the film’s prime asset and wrote that she “seems to have wandered in from another movie, one where emotions are conveyed in subtler and more affecting fashion. When she takes her leave from Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, you may wish you could go with her.” The film emerged as one of her biggest commercial successes with revenues of over ₹2 billion (US$25 million). Two years later, Rai played the part of a singer who is kidnapped by a troubled father in the unremarkable comedy-drama Fanney Khan (2018). An adaptation of the Belgian film Everybody’s Famous! (2000), the film co-starred Anil Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao. Uday Bhatia of Mint disliked the film and found Rai “too unruffled a screen presence to convincingly sell the kind of silliness this film requires”.
Rai reunited with Mani Ratnam for Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022) and Ponniyin Selvan: II (2023), a two-part Tamil ensemble period film based on Kalki Krishnamurthy’s epic novel of the same name. Both parts were filmed concurrently. She played Nandini, a scheming Chola queen. Haricharan Pudipeddi of Hindustan Times found Rai’s performance in the first part to be the best among the ensemble cast and in the second part to be the best of her career, while Sonil Dedhia of News 18 added that she is “wonderfully restrained and uses her eyes expertly to communicate so much”. Ponniyin Selvan: I earned ₹5 billion (US$63 million) worldwide to emerge as one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of all time, while Ponniyin Selvan: II has grossed over ₹3 billion (US$38 million) worldwide.
Off-screen work
In 1999 Rai participated in a world tour called the Magnificent Five, along with Aamir Khan, Rani Mukerji, Akshaye Khanna and Twinkle Khanna. In the same year, she was appointed as Longines Ambassador of Elegance. In 2001, Rai appeared in her first world tour, which was Craze 2001, a series of concerts that was performed across the US alongside Anil Kapoor, Aamir Khan, Preity Zinta and Gracy Singh. The show faced early cancellation due to the 11 September 2001 attacks, and the team prepared to return to India as soon as possible. However, the shows continued successfully in Canada. In 2003, she became the first Indian actress to be a jury member at the Cannes Film Festival. In the same year she became a global brand ambassador of L’Oréal, alongside Andie MacDowell, Eva Longoria and Penélope Cruz. Rai is the brand ambassador for The Eye Bank Association of India’s nationwide campaign to promote eye donation in India. In 2005, she became a brand ambassador for Pulse Polio, a campaign established by the Government of India in 1994 to eradicate polio in India. In the same year, Rai was appointed spokesperson for the International Year of Microcredit, raising awareness of the main goals and priorities of the United Nations’ poverty alleviation efforts.
Rai Bachchan receives Outlook Business Outstanding Woman Award
In February 2005 Rai performed with other Bollywood stars at the HELP! Telethon Concert, an event to raise money for the victims of the 2004 tsunami earthquake. Along with other members of the Bachchan family, she laid the foundation of a special school for underprivileged girls in Daulatpur village in Uttar Pradesh in 2008. Construction is being funded by the Bachchan family and the school will be named after Rai. Between July and August 2008, Rai, her husband Abhishek Bachchan, her father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan, and actors Preity Zinta, Ritesh Deshmukh and Madhuri Dixit starred in the “Unforgettable World Tour” stage production. The first leg covered the United States, Canada, Trinidad, and London, England. Rai is also involved in the functional and administrative operations of her father-in-law’s company, originally known as ABCL, and rechristened as AB Corp. Ltd. That company, along with Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., developed the Unforgettable production. She appeared along with various other Bollywood actors at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. The performance showcased Indian culture as a lead-up to India hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Rai is a UN Microcredit Spokesperson. She supports PETA India. She pledged to donate her eyes to the Eye Bank Association of India and appeared in a public awareness film on eye donation. In November 2004, Rai created the Aishwarya Rai Foundation to help needy people in India. In 2009 Rai was appointed as the first Goodwill Ambassador of Smile Train, an international charity that provides free Cleft lip and palate surgery to children in need. Her work with Smile Train will focus not only on India, but on 76 different developing countries around the world. In September 2012, Rai had joined United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and renowned Hollywood actor Michael Douglas at a ceremony to commemorate the International Day of Peace in New York. Later that week, she was appointed as the new international Goodwill Ambassador for UNAIDS, the joint United Nations programme on AIDS and HIV. She will raise global awareness on protecting children from HIV infection and increasing access to antiretroviral treatment.
Endorsements
Rai made her first commercial for Camlin exam pencils when she was in the 9th grade. Rai became popular after appearing in a Pepsi commercial with actor Aamir Khan. She is the only actress who endorsed both Pepsi and Coca-Cola. She is one of the top brand ambassadors in the country and is one of the top paid Bollywood actresses in this respect. She modelled for Titan Watches, Longines watches, L’Oréal, Coca-Cola, Lakmé Cosmetics, Casio pager, Philips, Palmolive, Lux, Fuji films, Nakshatra Diamond Jewellery, and Kalyan Jewellers. She was named the official brand ambassador for De Beers diamonds in India. Rai has been ranked the 2nd most popular watch brand ambassador worldwide in a survey, conducted by World Watch Report. In 2013 Rai and her husband Abhishek Bachchan have been roped in as the brand ambassadors by the TTK Group.
Impact and reception
Rai Bachchan is one of the most popular Indian celebrities. Despite constant media speculation, she keeps her personal life well-guarded. Her physical appearance and performances have made her a style icon for young women. In 2011, India Today noted that there were over 17,000 websites dedicated to her. She was selected by Verve magazine in its list of the country’s most powerful women. In 2001, Forbes named Rai among the top five Indian movie stars. In a reader poll conducted by UK’s Hello! magazine, she was voted “the most attractive woman of 2003”. In the same year, Rai appeared in Rolling Stone magazine’s annual “Hot List”. In 2004, she was chosen by Time as one of the world’s most influential people, and appeared on the cover of its 2003 Asia edition.
Rai is the first Indian actress to be on the jury of the Cannes International Film Festival. In October 2004 a wax figure of Rai was put on display in London’s Madame Tussaud’s wax museum. She was the sixth Indian and the second Bollywood personality—after her father-in-law, Amitabh Bachchan—to get this honour. In 2007, the same figure was displayed at Madame Tussaud’s Museum in Times Square in New York. As her most distinctive physical features, Rai’s green-blue eyes, luscious lips, curves and feminine mannerisms have been cited by the media as her trademark.
In 2005, she was the subject of a 60 Minutes profile on 2 January, which said that “at least according to thousands of Web sites, Internet polls and even Julia Roberts”, she was “the world’s most beautiful woman”. The same year, a tulip in the Netherlands was named “Aishwarya Rai” after her. Also in 2005, Mattel released a limited edition of Barbie dolls of Rai in the United Kingdom. The British magazine Maxim ranked Rai first on their list of “Hottest Women of India”.
Rai appeared on such shows as Late Show with David Letterman, and was the first Bollywood personality to appear on Oprah’s “Women Across the Globe” segment. In 2005 Harpers and Queen’s list of “Most Beautiful Women in The World” ranked her ninth. In May 2006, Rai was featured in People Magazine as one of the “World’s Most Beautiful People”. The UK magazine Eastern Eye ranked her third in the list of “Asia’s Sexiest Women” in 2006, and she was ranked eighth in 2009. In 2008, American television channel E!: Entertainment listed Rai’s eyes as the sexiest on their Sexiest Body Parts list. In 2009, she made appearances on Martha Stewart’s show Martha and on The Tyra Banks Show. In the same year Forbes listed Rai at 387th out of 1,411 actors on their list of the most bankable stars in Hollywood. She is the highest-ranked Indian actor on the list.
In a poll conducted by the newspaper Daily News and Analysis in 2009, she was voted as one of India’s most popular icons. She attended the 83rd Academy Awards, along with her husband, Abhishek. Rai with her husband Abhishek Bachchan appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show on 28 September 2009. She is the first Indian celebrity who appeared in The Oprah Winfrey Show twice. They have been described as a supercouple in the Indian media.
She ranked 2nd in The Times of India’s 50 most desirable women of 2010, and ranked 9th for 2011. In 2011, she has received a lot of negative publicity for failing to lose her post-pregnancy weight as is apparently “required” of a public figure. However, she silenced her critics by walking the red carpet at the “AmfAR Cinema Against Aids” gala in 2012 Cannes Film Festival for the 11th time. Later that year, Rai has made it to the issue of New York Magazine’s list of “Forty Women That Women Find Beautiful”, where she grabbed the 21st position in the list, with New York Magazine saying “She may be the “world’s most beautiful woman,” but what we really love is that she never feels fragile onscreen”. The market research firm YouGov named Rai the world’s eleventh most admired person of 2018.
Filmography
Films
| Year | Film | Role | Language |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Iruvar | Pushpavalli/Kalpana | Tamil |
| Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya | Ashi Kapoor | Hindi | |
| 1998 | Jeans | Madhumitha/Vaishnavi | Tamil |
| 1999 | Aa Ab Laut Chalen | Pooja Walia | Hindi |
| Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam | Nandini | Hindi | |
| Ravoyi Chandamama | Unnamed | Telugu | Special appearance in song “Love to Live” |
| Taal | Mansi | Hindi | |
| 2000 | Mela | Champakali | Hindi |
| Kandukondain Kandukondain | Meenakshi | Tamil | |
| Josh | Shirley Dias | Hindi | |
| Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai | Preeti Vyas | Hindi | |
| Dhai Akshar Prem Ke | Sahiba Grewal | Hindi | |
| Mohabbatein | Megha Shankar | Hindi | |
| 2001 | Albela | Sonia Heinz | Hindi |
| 2002 | Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam | Suman | Hindi |
| Hum Kisise Kum Nahin | Komal Rastogi | Hindi | |
| 23 March 1931: Shaheed | Mannawali | Hindi | Special appearance |
| Devdas | Parvati “Paro” Chakraborty | Hindi | |
| Shakti: The Power | Herself | Hindi | Special appearance in song “Ishq Kamina” |
| 2003 | Chokher Bali | Binodini | Bengali |
| Dil Ka Rishta | Tia Sharma | Hindi | |
| Kuch Naa Kaho | Namrata Shrivastav | Hindi | |
| 2004 | Khakee | Mahalakshmi | Hindi |
| Kyun…! Ho Gaya Na | Diya Malhotra | Hindi | |
| Bride & Prejudice | Lalita Bakshi | English | |
| Raincoat | Neerja | Hindi | |
| 2005 | Shabd | Antara Vashist/Tammana | Hindi |
| The Mistress of Spices | Tilo | English | |
| Bunty Aur Babli | Unnamed | Hindi | Special appearance in the song “Kajra Re“ |
| 2006 | Umrao Jaan | Umrao Jaan | Hindi |
| Dhoom 2 | Sunehri | Hindi | |
| 2007 | Guru | Sujata Desai | Hindi |
| Provoked | Kiranjit Ahluwalia | English | |
| The Last Legion | Mira | English | |
| 2008 | Jodhaa Akbar | Jodhaa Bai | Hindi |
| Sarkar Raj | Anita Rajan | Hindi | |
| 2009 | The Pink Panther 2 | Sonia Solandres | English |
| 2010 | Raavan | Ragini Sharma | Hindi |
| Raavanan | Ragini Subramaniam | Tamil | |
| Enthiran | Sana | Tamil | |
| Action Replayy | Mala | Hindi | |
| Guzaarish | Sofia D’Souza | Hindi | |
| 2011 | Bollywood: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told | Herself | English/Hindi |
| 2015 | Jazbaa | Anuradha Verma | Hindi |
| 2016 | Sarbjit | Dalbir Kaur | Hindi |
| Ae Dil Hai Mushkil | Saba Taliyar Khan | Hindi | |
| 2018 | Fanney Khan | Sumitra “Baby” Singh | Hindi |
| 2022 | Ponniyin Selvan: I | Nandini / Oomai Rani | Tamil |
| 2023 | Ponniyin Selvan: II | Tamil |
