Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya Rai
Rai in December 2016
Native name	ಐಶ್ವರ್ಯ ರೈ
Born	(1973-11-01) 1 November 1973 (age 43) Mangalore, Karnataka, India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Actress, model
Years active	1989–present
Spouse(s)	Abhishek Bachchan (m. 2007)
Children	1
Relatives	See Bachchan family
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Aishwarya Rai (born 1 November 1973), also known by her married name Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, is an Indian actress, model and the winner of the Miss World 1994 pageant. Through her successful acting career, she has established herself as one of the most popular and influential celebrities in India. Rai has received numerous awards and accolades, including two Filmfare Awards from eleven nominations, and she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2009. She is often cited 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 starring legendary versatile actor Mohanlal 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), following which she achieved wider success and two Best Actress awards at Filmfare for her performances in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and Devdas (2002).

She garnered critical appreciation for portraying a passionate artist in the Tamil romance Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000), Rabindranath Tagore's heroine, Binodini, in the Bengali film Chokher Bali (2003), a depressed woman in the relationship drama Raincoat (2004) and as Kiranjit Ahluwalia in the British drama film Provoked (2006). Rai's greatest commercial successes have been the romance Mohabbatein (2000), the adventure film Dhoom 2 (2006), the historical romance Jodhaa Akbar (2008), and the science fiction film Enthiran (2010). She also received praise for portraying a nurse in the drama Guzaarish (2010). Rai took a sabbatical from film acting in 2010, and made her comeback with the thriller Jazbaa (2015).