Glamorous, curvaceous and arduous, this dusky enchantress is one of Bollywood’s highest-paid and most celebrated actresses. Columnist, philanthropist and musician, Priyanka Chopra is the complete package who has awestruck the audience with a number of scintillating performances.
She was declared queen of brand endorsements in India and named India’s best Dressed Woman by People in 2011 and is the first Indian actress to feature in a school text book.
Early Life
Priyanka Chopra was born on July 18, 1982 in Jamshedpur. She changed schools quite often as a kid due to her parent’s occupation. Moving to the US, she started to learn Kathak dance, western classical music and choral singing at the age of 13.
She completed her education at the Army Public School in Bareilly.
Priyanka was Femina Miss India World in 2000 and went on to win the Miss World crown.
Acting Career
Priyanka made her on screen debut in the 2002 Tamil film ‘Thamizhan’. The next year she made her Bollywood debut with ‘The Hero: Love Story of a Spy’. She made a mark in Bollywood with her negative role in ‘Aitraaz’ (2003). Since then there was no looking back for her.
Post the success; she had loads of films in her kitty which includes ‘Karam’, ‘Waqt’, ‘Bluffmaster’, and many more. However, it was Raksh Roshan’s ‘Krrish’ and Farhan Akhtar’s ‘Don’ which again brought her to the limelight.
Superhits, ‘Kaminey’ (2009), ‘Don 2’ (2011) and ‘Agneepath’ (2012), made her a commercial success. She received critical acclaim for her roles in ‘Fashion’ (2009) and ‘Barfi!’ (2014).
Music Career
In August 2011, Universal Music Group signed Chopra to a worldwide recording agreement with DesiHits. Her first single, ‘In My City’ featuring William, debuted in the US on 13 September 2012. It was a commercial success in India.
In April 2013, Chopra filmed the music video for her single ‘Exotic’ featuring American rapper Pitbull in South Beach, Florida. It was number one on iTunes India. Her third single, a cover of Bonnie Raitt’s ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’ was released on 22 April 2014.
Philanthropy
Priyanka often speaks out on women’s issues: against female infanticide and foeticide, and in support of education for girls. She has worked with UNICEF since 2008, recording public-service announcements, promoting children’s rights and the education of girls.
She was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Child Rights on 10 August 2010. Chopra is a supporter of environmental charities and is brand ambassador for NDTV’s Greenathon, an initiative to support eco-friendliness and improve electricity supplies to rural villages.
Honours
She won the National Award for “Best Actress” for ‘Fashion’.
A four-time Filmfare Award winner, she has numerous minor awards in her kitty.