'''Aishwarya Rai''' (IPA: / /, Hindi: ऐश्वर्या राय, Urdu: ایشوریا رائے) (born November 1, 1973) is an Indian actress and former fashion model, currently the highest-paid actresses in India.
[http://www.forbes.com/2001/03/09/0309bollywood.html][http://www.apunkachoice.com/scoop/bollywood/20060519-1.html] She was Miss World in 1994.She is currently regarded as one of the biggest names in Bollywood.
Early life
Aishwarya Rai was born in Mangalore, in the South Indian state of Karnataka, to Krishnaraj Rai, a marine engineer, and Vrinda Rai, a writer. Her ancestors are from the Bunt community of Mangalore.
[http://www.buntscommunity.com/cinestars.html] Her family later relocated to Mumbai. Rai has one brother, Aditya Rai, who is three years older than she is. Aditya is a film producer, and has occasionally produced films in which Rai acted. Aditya got married in early 2004.
[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1558513.cms]Rai's native language is Tulu; she also speaks Hindi, English, Urdu, Kannada, Marathi, and Tamil.
[http://www.aishwaryaworld.com/info.html]Rai attended the Arya Vidya Mandir at Santacruz, Mumbai, then entered Ruparel College, Matunga, Mumbai. She was an A student and was on track to become an architect.
[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/12/29/60minutes/main663862_page2.shtml] Rai began modeling on the side while studying architecture. In the 1994 Miss India contest, she placed second behind Sushmita Sen, and went on to win the Miss World title that same year and the Miss Photogenic award. After the one year reign as Miss World in London, she then worked as a professional model, in advertising and Indian fashion magazines.
Rise of acting career
The first film Rai acted in was a Tamil movie ''Iruvar'' in (1997), directed by Mani Ratnam.
Her first Hindi film was ''Aur Pyar Ho Gaya'' opposite Bobby Deol. Her breakthrough performance came in 1999 with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film ''
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam''. Later standout successes include ''Taal'' and ''
Devdas''. Besides Hindi language, Bollywood films, Rai has also acted in Tamil films such as ''
Jeans'' and ''
Kandukondain Kandukondain'' and the Bengali film ''Chokher Bali'', and appeared in a Telugu film ''Ravoyi Chandamama''. Since 2004 Rai has also been appearing in an increasing number of English language films.
International stardom
thumb|210 px||Rai in a scene from ''
Bride and Prejudice''.
In 2002, Rai appeared with Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit in the lavishly produced ''
Devdas'', which was a huge hit. The film attracted overseas attention as well, receiving a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival, garnering international attention for Rai.
In 2003, Rai was a member of the jury at Cannes. In 2004, she was chosen by ''TIME Magazine's'' Asian Edition as one of Asia's "100 Most Influential People."
