Priyanka Chopra

Birth: 18 July 1982, Jamshedpur, Bihar, India

Birth Name: Priyanka Ashok Chopra

Nickname: Sunshine, Mimi, Yanka , Priyucka Cobra, Priya

Height:  5' 8" (1.73 m)

Priyanka was born in Jamshedpur, Jharkand to Ashok Chopra and Madhu Akhauri, both doctors by profession. Chopra spent her childhood in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh; Newton, Massachusetts; and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Her father was in the army and thus her family moved quite frequently. Her father hailed from a family of Punjabi Khatri origin, settled in Bareilly and her mother comes from a Bihari Kayastha family settled in Jamshedpur. She also has a brother, Siddharth, who is seven years younger than she is.She studied at St. Maria Goretti in Bareilly and La Martiniere Girls' School in Lucknow as a young girl. These frequent re-locations took place as Ashok was a doctor in the Indian Army. She subsequently re-located to the U.S. where she studied in Newton North High School in Newton, Massachusetts and then in John F. Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She returned to India and did her high school at Army School in Bareilly. She began college at Jai Hind College in Mumbai but left after winning the Miss World pageant.

She was crowned Miss India World and later Miss World in 2000. In the same year, Lara Dutta and Dia Mirza, both also from India, won the Miss Universe and Miss Asia Pacific crowns, in a rare triple victory for one country.When she won the Miss World crown, she became the fifth Indian woman to win the title, and the fourth Indian woman to win in a span of seven years.

She made her debut in the 2002 Tamil film Thamizhan playing the role of Priya, the love interest of the protaginist in the film played by Vijay. In 2003, she appeared in her first Bollywood film, The Hero: Love Story of a Spy directed by Anil Sharma, in a supporting role as a doctor named Shaheen. Despite being one of the highest grossing films of that year, the film was given a below average status.Later that year she appeared in Raj Kanwar's Andaaz opposite Akshay Kumar. The film turned out to be a box office success,earning her a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award and a nomination for Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award.Her next few films released in 2004 like Plan, Kismat and Asambhav performed poorly at the box office. Later that year she appeared in David Dhawan's romantic comedy Mujhse Shaadi Karogi playing the role of a young fashion designer Rani along with Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar, the film turned out to be the third highest grossing film of that year. She next starred in Aitraaz, a Hindi remake of Disclosure. It was her first negative role. Her performance won critical acclaim and earned a Filmfare Best Villain Award. She also received a second nomination for Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for the role. In the same year, she participated in a world tour titled Temptations 2004 with other Bollywood actors, including Shahrukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta and Arjun Rampal.

In 2005, several of her films were released, all of which did not do well at the box office.In 2006, Chopra starred in two of the most successful films of the year - Krrish and Don - The Chase Begins Again.Nikhil Advani's ensemble piece, Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute To Love was Chopra's first release in 2007. The movie failed to do well at the box office.Her next release, Big Brother also underperformed.

In 2008, she featured in six films. Her first four films, Love Story 2050, God Tussi Great Ho, Chamku and Drona, failed to do well.Her fifth release of the year, Madhur Bhandarkar's Fashion was a critical success. The film revolved around the fashion world and Chopra's role was that of an ambitious model. Her performance in the film was appreciated and earned her several awards for Best Actress including the Filmfare Best Actress Award.Her final release of the year was Tarun Mansukhani's romantic comedy Dostana. The film was a moderate financial success.

In 2009 she appeared in Vishal Bharadwaj's Kaminey alongside Shahid Kapoor playing a marathi girl named Sweety. Her performance in the film was described by critic Taran Adarsh: "Priyanka is first-rate. She's so much in sync with her character. Also, she gets the Maharashtrian accent perfect". Later this year she is going to appear in Ashutosh Gowariker's What's Your Raashee? and Jugal Hansraj's Pyaar Impossible. She has also signed Sanjay Gupta's Chamki Chameli