Aishwarya Rai Biography (2)

Aishwarya Rai (born November 1, 1973) is a Bollywood actress and model. She won the Miss World competition in 1994, after being the first runner-up in the Miss India contest.

Aishwarya was born in Mangalore, Karnataka, India to Krishnaraj Rai, a Merchant Navy Officer and Brinda Rai. She studied in DG Ruparel College and Arya Vidya in Mumbai where she was brought up. Her first modelling assignment was for Camelin Industries when she was in her ninth grade. She appeared in many advertisements following that. Aishwarya's popularity rose after winning the Miss India title subsequently followed by the Miss World crown in 1994. She was sought after for endorsements and offers to act in films.

Her films are mostly in the Hindi language, although she made a recent critically acclaimed Bengali film based on a Rabindranath Tagore book named Choker Bali. She will star in a commercial UK/Hollywood production called Bride and Prejudice (2004) directed by Gurinder Chadha.

She is the highest paid Bollywood actress. She is the only Indian to have served on the jury of the Cannes Film Festival.

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