Priyanka Chopra is a name Westerners are quickly becoming more and more familiar with, as the
Bollywood starlet-turned American sweetheart's profile continues to rise.
Let's take a look at her exciting life and revel in one of Hollywood's most amazing transformations.
From Jamshedpur to Newton
Priyanka Chopra was born on July 18, 1982, in Jamshedpur, India.
As a preteen, Chopra left Jamshedpur to live with her aunt in Newton, Massachusetts.
Considering Newton is a city of less than 100,000 people and Jamshedpur boasts more
than one million, the move was quite the adjustment for Chopra.
Revealing the adorably funny reason she made the big move on The Late Show with Stephen
Colbert, Chopra said:
“I realized that kids don't have to wear a uniform to school in America.
And for a teenager, that's really important, you know?"
Conquering the world
In 2000, an 18-year old Priyanka Chopra was crowned Femina Miss India World.
Though the young beauty queen would go on to take home the title of Miss World, Chopra
once said that being bullied in high school negatively affected the way she felt about
herself and her appearance, revealing to Today:
"I was made to feel so uncomfortable about the way I looked or where I came from.”
In an interview, Chopra revealed that she credits her pageant wins for her confidence,
grace, positivity, intelligence, and poise.
Less is more
Two years before the actress would impress American audiences on Quantico, Priyanka Chopra
spoke with Filmfare about her personal approach to style.
When asked to share her must-have style item, Chopra revealed:
"The one thing I wear best is my confidence.
That's what I'd recommend to everyone."
Perhaps it’s this confidence that inspires Chopra’s “less is more” approach to
makeup.
The actress’ best tip to avoid looking like a painting?
“If you're doing the eyes, don't do the lips.
If you're doing lips, don't do the eyes."
Chopra's approach to makeup is reminiscent of Angelina Jolie's modern minimalist beauty
routine, and Chopra just so happened to name Jolie as her A-lister style icon.
India's Beyonce to America's sweetheart
Though Chopra had enjoyed a successful film career as a Bollywood star in India, her costars
in the ABC television series Quantico initially had no idea how seasoned of an actress she
really was.
Quantico producer Joshua Safran told Indiewire:
"She just came in like any other actor on the day we were auditioning the role of Alex.
She was very clearly an entity in and of herself and I was very surprised because I did not
know who she was, she was just another name on that day's sheet.”
Josh Hopkins, a co-star of Chopra’s, also admitted not knowing who she was, despite
her 11 million Twitter followers.
However, now that he knows just what a big deal she is, Hopkins told Indiewire that he
wants to visit India with Chopra “to see what it’s like to walk around with Beyonce.”
Hey, we can’t say we blame him.
Wearing success like a shirt
In 2016, Chopra was named as one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People.”
Her Baywatch co-star, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, penned a touching tribute to the
star, writing:
"She has drive, ambition, self-respect, and she knows there's no substitute for hard work."
Johnson went on to say that he and Chopra often quote the saying, "Wear your success
like a T-shirt, not a tuxedo.”
Praising Chopra’s accessibility despite her fame, Johnson said:
"As big a star as she is, as global as she is, as beautiful as she is, there's this interesting
quality of relatability.”
Falling in love
Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas kept their relationship on the down-low for quite some
time before the actress confirmed her engagement to the Jonas brother in August 2018.
The couple sat down with Vogue later in the year to satiate their fans’ curiosity about
their relationship, revealing that it began with Jonas sliding into Chopra’s DMs.
After texting for a few months, the two finally met face-to-face at the Vanity Fair Oscars
party in 2017.
Jonas recalled getting on one knee and asking Chopra, “Where have you been all my life?”
Chopra and Jonas attended the 2017 Met Gala together before going a whole year without
seeing each other, meeting again at the 2018 Met Gala.
Jonas revealed that he knew he’d marry Chopra after their third official date at a Dodgers
game.
It looks like he was onto something!
Happily ever after
On November 30th, 2018, Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra kicked off their wedding celebrations
with a Mehendi ceremony, a traditional Indian custom, where they received henna tattoos.
Later that evening, Jonas and Chopra's families performed choreographed dance numbers in what
Chopra described as a “fierce song and dance competition between the families.”
On December 1st, the bride and groom said “I do” in a Western wedding ceremony,
Chopra wearing a custom Ralph Lauren wedding gown with an incredible 75-foot veil.
Chopra revealed to People magazine that she was nervous, but she knew she was “making
the best decision of her life” once she saw Jonas.
The following day, the couple exchanged vows once more in a Hindu ceremony.
Their sweet wedding celebrations came to an end when Chopra's family blessed her marriage
to Jonas.
Happy ever-after, Nick and Priyanka!