Lifestyle: Meet Priyanka Chopra, the former Miss World and Bollywood star who's dominating Hollywood and about to marry Nick Jonas

Priyanka Chopra went from Bollywood queen to Hollywood star.

Fans might recognize the former Bollywood actress and beauty queen for her role as Alex Parrish on "Quantico." She's also set to marry Nick Jonas in India.

2018 has been a significant year for Priyanka Chopra, from being one of the lucky celebrities in attendance at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding to getting engaged to Nick Jonas after a whirlwind relationship.

But of course, Chopra has a pretty great story in her own right. Since the premiere of ABC's drama "Quantico" in 2015, she has been getting a lot of attention for becoming the first South Asian actress to lead an American series.

In 2016, she was named in Time's new 100 Most Influential People issue alongside the likes of Mark Zuckerberg and Leonardo DiCaprio.

When "Quantico" first premiered, most Americans had no clue that she was already a big deal in India. Not only did she place at the Miss India pageant, but she went on to win Miss World. She then had a successful career as a film actress in Bollywood.

In addition to playing Alex Parrish on "Quantico" until the show's cancellation in 2018, she is involved in issues like education, hunger, and equal rights for women.

Chopra's work takes her around the world, and her next stop will be her wedding to Jonas, which will take place at Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.

Here's the fabulous life and rise to fame of Priyanka Chopra.

Priyanka Chopra's parents were doctors in the Indian army, so the family moved often.

Priyanka even attended the 10th grade in Boston, where she said she was bullied.

"It broke my spirit," she told Glamour. "It made me question who I was. Why was it so uncool being Indian?"

She then moved back to India and her mother recalled Chopra transforming from a "carefree tomboy" into a "gorgeous female." According to Vogue, the change in appearance led Chopra to attract boys, so her father put bars on the windows of the home.

"The house looked like a fortress," her mom said.



Before winning Miss World, Chopra wanted to be an engineer.

Before winning pageants, she considered being an aeronautical engineer for NASA.



In 2003, Chopra made her first Bollywood movie, "The Hero: Love Story of a Spy."

Chopra has starred in more than 50 Indian films, taking on the roles of a model, a boxer, and an autistic teenager.



In 2008's "Fashion," Chopra played a model and received backlash from the media, which accused her of trying to lose weight for the part.

She said that she actually had to gain weight and then lose it as the film progressed. Since then, Chopra has been an advocate for positive body image, telling InStyle, "I believe in a woman having curves."



She began writing an opinion column, "The Priyanka Chopra Column," for the Hindustan Times in 2009.

She wrote several controversial columns regarding women's lives and safety in the country. She also writes a column for Elle called "Pret-a-Priyanka."



For a while, she was dating Bollywood star Shahid Kapoor, but they broke up in 2011.

Speaking to Marie Claire in 2017, Chopra spoke candidly about her personal life and romance.

"I'm not someone who looks for love," she said. "I don't believe in making it happen. My life has been shaped by so many serendipitous moments so far, I feel like, 'Why screw with a good thing?'"



Chopra's mother entered her in the Miss India pageant. She actually placed second, but went on to Miss World and won.

Chopra also shared a throwback on Instagram.



Chopra hosted the third season of India's "Fear Factor."

News of her taking over hosting duties was revealed in March 2010.



She was appointed India's official UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for child rights in 2010.

In 2017, she went to Zimbabwe to speak with child survivors of sexual violence.



Before "Quantico," Chopra may have been best known to Americans for her song "In My City," which featured artist will.i.am.

It was the theme song for "Thursday Night Football" in 2013.



In July 2012, Chopra became the first Bollywood star signed by Creative Artists Agency.

"I am an actor so it did make sense to have representation in terms of movies or entertainment in any way," Chopra told The Hollywood Reporter. "Everybody on my team thought that it made sense to be covered on the movie front as well. CAA was excited to come on board so we went with them."



One of her more notable American movie roles was voicing an airplane in the 2013 Disney animated movie "Planes."

She voiced the character Ishani, and the cast included stars like Val Kilmer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Brad Garrett.



In March 2015, it was revealed that Chopra landed the lead role in ABC's "Quantico," playing an FBI agent in training who finds herself in the middle of a terrorist attack in New York City.

To prepare for her "Quantico" role and make sure that she played the role of an agent realistically, she worked with actual FBI agents.



In 2016, she received the People's Choice Award for favorite actress in a new TV Series for her role on "Quantico."

She was the first South Asian actress to win a PCA.



Chopra matched the red carpet with her 2016 Primetime Emmys look.

That evening, Chopra and Tom Hiddleston presented the award for best director for a limited series, movie, or special.



Chopra has a tattoo on her wrist that reads "Daddy's lil girl" in her father’s handwriting.

Since losing her father to cancer in 2013, Chopra has often opened up about her dad and his influence.

"My father always told me, 'You should not want to fit into someone else's glass slipper. You should shatter the glass ceiling,'" Chopra told Glamour.



Chopra has been chosen as the face of many brands, including Pepsi, Nokia, Garnier, Nestlé, and Guess.

She also became an ambassador for Pantene in 2016 and starred in their "Strong Is Beautiful" campaign.



In January 2017, Chopra won another People's Choice Award.

As an established star on "Quantico," she won the award for favorite dramatic TV actress.



Chopra stunned at the 2017 Met Gala, with Nick Jonas by her side.

She wore a custom Ralph Lauren dress. People wondered if Chopra and Jonas were dating, but they were just friends at that point.



She appeared as villain Victoria Leeds in the 2017 "Baywatch" reboot movie.

"I loved 'Baywatch' so much growing up," Chopra told Marie Claire. "It was the quintessential American Dream. All those beautiful people in bathing suits, running slo-mo on the beach in Malibu — amazing!"



She started The Priyanka Chopra Foundation for Health and Education, which currently covers educational and medical expenses for children in India.

"I can't eradicate poverty, but at least for the people around me, I can help make sure no child is denied a dream," she said in an interview with Glamour.



She is a spokeswoman for the UN's Girl Up campaign and an ambassador for Girl Rising, the global campaign for female education.

"I am joining Girl Up because I firmly believe in the campaign’s mission, that every girl, no matter where she is born, should grow up safe, healthy and empowered," she said. "Every girl should have the opportunity to reach her full potential."



Chopra is a huge fan of Instagram, on which she has more than 30 million followers.

Chopra also has a second Instagram account for her dog, Diana.



Chopra now splits her time among New York, Mumbai, and Los Angeles.

Chopra went to Ireland to film the latest season of "Quantico" — which premiered on ABC on April 26, 2018. The show was canceled after three seasons.



She also traveled to England to attend Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding.

During an appearance on NBC's 'Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" Chopra explained how she became good friends with Markle — and landed a coveted invite to the royal wedding.

According to Chopra, they met three or four years ago at an ELLE event and clicked right away. Since they both ended up in Canada filming shows — "Quantico" and Markle's "Suits" — they would meet up and chat.

"I'm just really happy for a friend of mine," she said.



Chopra and Jonas started dating in May 2018.

They started texting each other in September 2016 and met in real life in February 2017 at a Vanity Fair Oscars party, where Jonas recalled being so taken aback by her that he actually got down on one knee and said: "'You're real. Where have you been all my life?"

They attended the 2017 Met Gala together, but Chopra and Jonas' busy schedules meant that they didn't see each other again until the 2018 Met Gala. That's when their relationship really took off and after three dates, Jonas realized that he wanted to marry her.



They got engaged in July, but didn't confirm it until August.

Jonas told Vogue that he popped the question in Crete, Greece while celebrating her 36th birthday. The singer also said that Chopra was speechless and stayed silent for about 45 seconds before responding to his proposal.

Their families then met up in India to celebrate the engagement and share the news with fans.

Chopra also had an extravagant bridal shower, plus a bachelorette party in Europe.



The couple is set to wed at Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.

The lavish palace has a five-star hotel and museum, and 347 rooms.

They'll have two ceremonies, a traditional Indian ceremony and a Christian service led by Jonas' father, according to Vogue.

Visit INSIDER's homepage for more.



Post a Comment

Previous Post Next Post