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Aishwarya Rai, also known as Ash by many of her fans, was born on November 1st, 1973 in Mangalore, Karnatka, India to Krishna Raj and Vrinda Rai. Her birthname is Aishwarya Krishnaraj Rai and she grew up in a traditional, middle class South Indian family with her elder brother, Aditya.

Aishwarya was a student studying architecture before she entered the modeling industry as a part-time job. She received her education at Arya Vidya Mandir and DG Ruparel College, both in Bombay. She was also accepted into Raheja College of Architecture in Bombay, but never attended. (Bit of Trivia: Aishwarya Rai is fluent in the languages English, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, and Urdu!) She was best known for her Pepsi commercials. (Bit of Trivia: Ash and Aamir Khan are the only stars to endorse both Pepsi and Coca-Cola.) Before she was famous, she auditioned to do dubbing for a TV series but was rejected. Although, with her beautiful green eyes, she was already beginning to be approached by some major names in India’s film industry. She rejected the film offers since she aimed to be an architect. However, destiny didn’t think so. Aishwarya was crowned Miss World in1994. Soon after her crowning, she began to once again receive offers to be cast in films.

Aishwarya’s first major hit was in ‘Iruvar’ in 1997. After that, her film career took off with more hits such as Aur Paar Ho Gaya, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Mohabbatein, and Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai. She continued to gain star status after winning Best Actress by FilmFare and Zee Cine, being nominated for Best Supporting Actress, and also being nominated for FilmFare’s Best Actress Award.

Today Aishwarya Rai is the biggest female actor in India and has starred in films around the world totaling to nearly fifty. (Bit of Trivia: During the filming of the song ‘Dola Re Dola’ from the motion picture Devdas, Aishwarya’s ears were bleeding thanks to the heavy earrings she had to wear, but she continued to perform anyway. How’s that for dedication?) She has won over one hundred awards since 1994 and has gained a cult following in Pakistan. Also underscoring her mega-star status, Ash has over 17,000 web sites dedicated to her. (Bit of Trivia: Ash has appeared on many American TV shows such as David Letterman, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and 60 Minutes.) She is often referred to as “the most beautiful woman in the world”. In the summer of 2005, Barbie dolls were released inspired by Aishwarya and her costumes. They were available only in Britain and had sold out within minutes. When President George W. Bush visited India in 2006, he invited Aishwarya, along with Aamir Khan, to a luncheon. Ash couldn’t attend because she was in Brazil at the time filming for Dhoom 2. Aishwarya dated Salman Khan for a period of time before deciding to settle down with Abishek Bachchan, the son of the idolized actor Amitabh Bachchan. The two got married on April 20th, 2007 in Juhu, Bombay. The wedding invitations were monogrammed with two entwined As and delivered with a box of chocolate meringues. The ceremony lasted a total of three days. It was the most awaited and talked about wedding in years and the press was on it in a similar fashion to Princess Diana’s wedding. The couple hasn’t had any children, but say, “it will happen when it happens.”

Aishwarya has appeared on more magazine covers worldwide than any other Bollywood or Indian star and is no doubt the most photographed woman in India. Being he highest paid actress in Bollywood to date, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has made over fifty music videos in a mere seven years.

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