celeb: Priyanka Chopra

Priyanka Chopra Jonas  (born 18 July 1982) is an Indian actress, singer, film producer, and the winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant. One of India’s highest-paid and most popular celebrities, Chopra has received numerous awards, including one National Film Award and five Filmfare Awards. In 2016, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri, and Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2017 and 2018, Forbes listed her among the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.

Although Chopra initially aspired to study aeronautical engineering, she accepted offers to join the Indian film industry, which came as a result of her pageant wins, making her Bollywood debut in The Hero: Love Story of a Spy (2003). She played the leading lady in the box-office hits Andaaz (2003) and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004) and received critical acclaim for her breakout role in the 2004 thriller Aitraaz. In 2006, Chopra established herself as a leading actress of Indian cinema with starring roles in the top-grossing productions Krrish and Don, and she later reprised her role in their sequels.

Following a brief setback, her career was revived in 2008 for playing a troubled model in the drama Fashion, which won her the National Film Award for Best Actress, and a glamorous journalist in Dostana. Chopra gained wider recognition for portraying a range of characters in the films Kaminey (2009), 7 Khoon Maaf (2011), Barfi! (2012), Mary Kom (2014), and Bajirao Mastani (2015). From 2015 to 2018, she starred as Alex Parrish in the ABC thriller series Quantico, becoming the first South Asian to headline an American network drama series. Chopra has since played supporting roles in the Hollywood comedies Baywatch (2017) and Isn’t It Romantic(2019), and returned to Hindi cinema with a leading role in the biopic The Sky Is Pink (2019).

As a philanthropist, Chopra has worked with UNICEF since 2006 and was appointed as the national and global UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Child Rights in 2010 and 2016, respectively. She promotes social causes such as environment, health and education, and women’s rights, and is vocal about gender equality and feminism. As a recording artist, she has released three singles. She is also the founder of the production company Purple Pebble Pictures, which released the acclaimed Marathi film Ventilator (2016). Despite maintaining privacy, Chopra’s off-screen life is the subject of substantial media coverage. She is married to the American singer and actor Nick Jonas.