142 Facts About Priyanka Chopra

1.

Priyanka Chopra Jonas was born on 18 July 1982 and is an Indian actress and producer.

2.

The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is one of India's highest-paid actresses and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awards and five Filmfare Awards.

3.

Priyanka Chopra accepted offers to join the Indian film industry following her pageant wins.

4.

Priyanka Chopra's acting debut came in the Tamil film Thamizhan, followed by her first Bollywood feature in The Hero: Love Story of a Spy.

5.

Priyanka Chopra played the leading lady in the box-office hits Andaaz and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi and had her breakout role in the 2004 romantic thriller Aitraaz.

6.

Priyanka Chopra established herself with starring roles in the top-grossing productions Krrish and Don, and later reprised her role in their sequels.

7.

For playing a troubled model in the drama Fashion, Priyanka Chopra won a National Film Award and a Filmfare Award for Best Actress.

8.

From 2015 to 2018, Priyanka Chopra starred as Alex Parrish in the ABC thriller series Quantico, becoming the first South Asian to headline an American network drama series.

9.

Priyanka Chopra has appeared in Hollywood films, such as Baywatch, Isn't It Romantic, The White Tiger, and The Matrix Resurrections, and starred in the action thriller series Citadel.

10.

Priyanka Chopra ventured into music by releasing three singles and into writing with her memoir Unfinished, which reached The New York Times Best Seller list.

11.

Priyanka Chopra promotes social causes such as environment and women's rights and is vocal about gender equality, the gender pay gap, and feminism.

12.

Priyanka 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.

13.

Priyanka Chopra was born on 18 July 1982 in Jamshedpur, Bihar, to Ashok and Madhu Priyanka Chopra, both physicians in the Indian Army.

14.

Priyanka Chopra's maternal grandmother, Mrs Akhouri, was a Malayali Jacobite Syrian Christian originally named Mary John, belonging to the Kavalappara family of Kumarakom, Kottayam district, Kerala.

15.

Priyanka Chopra has a brother, Siddharth, who is seven years her junior.

16.

Priyanka Chopra now considers Bareilly her home town, and maintains strong connections there.

17.

At 13, Priyanka Chopra moved to the United States to study, living with her aunt, and attending schools in Newton, Massachusetts, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after a stop in Queens, New York, as her aunt's family moved frequently.

18.

Priyanka Chopra's mother entered her in the Femina Miss India contest of 2000; she finished second, winning the Femina Miss India World title.

19.

Priyanka Chopra was the fifth Indian contestant to win Miss World, and the fourth to do so within seven years.

20.

Priyanka Chopra had enrolled in college, but left after winning the Miss World pageant.

21.

Priyanka Chopra said that the Miss India and Miss World titles brought her recognition, and she began receiving offers for film roles.

22.

However, this fell through for various reasons: she stated the production conflicted with her schedule, while the producers said they recast because Priyanka Chopra took on various other commitments.

23.

In 2003, Priyanka Chopra made her Bollywood film debut as the second female lead opposite Sunny Deol and Preity Zinta in Anil Sharma's The Hero: Love Story of a Spy.

24.

Priyanka Chopra played a vivacious young woman who falls in love with Kumar's character.

25.

Priyanka Chopra was typically cast during this earlier period as a "glamour quotient", in roles that were considered forgettable by film critic Joginder Tuteja.

26.

The film was a critical and commercial success, and Priyanka Chopra's performance received critical acclaim.

27.

Priyanka Chopra received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress, and the Producers Guild Film Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

28.

Priyanka Chopra suffered an accident during the filming for the song "Do Me A Favour Let's Play Holi" when she electrocuted herself, spending a day recovering in hospital.

29.

Priyanka Chopra's performance received mixed reviews, with Bollywood Hungama describing it as "mechanical".

30.

Priyanka Chopra played independent working woman Simran Saxena, Bachchan's love interest.

31.

Co-starring with Hrithik Roshan, Rekha and Naseeruddin Shah, Priyanka Chopra played a young television journalist who schemes to take advantage of an innocent young man with remarkable physical abilities, but eventually falls in love with him.

32.

Priyanka Chopra portrayed Roma, who joins the underworld to avenge Don for killing her brother.

33.

Priyanka Chopra received martial-arts training for her role in the movie, and performed her own stunts.

34.

Priyanka Chopra was featured opposite Salman Khan in the first chapter as Kamini, an item girl and aspiring actress who tries to land the lead role in a Karan Johar film with a publicity gimmick.

35.

In 2008, Priyanka Chopra starred opposite Harman Baweja in his father's Love Story 2050.

36.

Priyanka Chopra played a double role, so she colored her hair twice; once red to portray the girl from the future and then black for the girl of the past.

37.

Priyanka Chopra's performance was poorly received; Rajeev Masand was unimpressed with Chopra's chemistry with her co-star, remarking that her character "fails to inspire either affection or sympathy".

38.

Priyanka Chopra next appeared in the comedy God Tussi Great Ho, portraying a TV anchor opposite Salman Khan, Sohail Khan and Amitabh Bachchan.

39.

Priyanka Chopra next starred as a kindergarten teacher in Chamku opposite Bobby Deol and Irrfan Khan, and played the role of Sonia in Goldie Behl's fantasy superhero film Drona opposite Abhishek Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan.

40.

The string of poorly received films ended when Priyanka Chopra starred in Madhur Bhandarkar's Fashion, a drama about the Indian fashion industry which followed the lives and careers of several fashion models.

41.

Priyanka Chopra portrayed the ambitious supermodel Meghna Mathur, a role which she initially thought was out of her depth, but after six months' consideration she accepted the role, inspired by Bhandarkar's confidence in her.

42.

Priyanka Chopra played a stylish young fashion-magazine editor Neha Melwani, who is trying to deal with professional pressures in her life.

43.

In 2009, Priyanka Chopra played a feisty Marathi woman named Sweety in Vishal Bhardwaj's caper thriller Kaminey, about twin brothers and the journey in their life linked with the underworld.

44.

Priyanka Chopra's role earned her several awards and nominations, including a second consecutive Producers Guild Film Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role after Fashion and Best Actress nominations at the Filmfare, Screen and IIFA awards.

45.

Priyanka Chopra received a nomination for the Screen Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film.

46.

Priyanka Chopra was considered for inclusion in the Guinness World Records book for being the first film actress to portray 12 distinct characters in one film.

47.

Priyanka Chopra starred as a femme fatale in her first film of 2011, Vishal Bhardwaj's black comedy 7 Khoon Maaf.

48.

Priyanka Chopra's performance earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress and a nomination for the Filmfare Award, IIFA Award, Producers Guild Film Award, and Screen Award for Best Actress.

49.

In one of several accidents to happen during production, Priyanka Chopra's lehenga caught fire while filming a sequence for an elaborate Ganpati festival song.

50.

Priyanka Chopra featured as Kaali Gawde, Roshan's loquacious love interest in the film.

51.

Priyanka Chopra next co-starred with Shahid Kapoor in Kunal Kohli's romance, Teri Meri Kahaani.

52.

Priyanka Chopra played Jhilmil Chatterjee, an autistic woman who falls in love with a deaf, mute man.

53.

Rachit Gupta of Filmfare found Priyanka Chopra to be the film's "surprise package" and found her performance to be "the best representation of [autism] on Indian celluloid".

54.

Priyanka Chopra received Best Actress nominations at the Filmfare, Screen, IIFA and Producers Guild Film Awards.

55.

Priyanka Chopra played an NRI girl in the Apoorva Lakhia's bilingual action drama Zanjeer, a remake of the 1973 Hindi film of the same name, which met with poor reactions from critics and was unsuccessful at the box office.

56.

Critics felt that Priyanka Chopra had very little to do in the film.

57.

Priyanka Chopra danced a contemporary mujra in the song "Ram Chahe Leela" for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela.

58.

In 2014, Priyanka Chopra played the lead female role in Yash Raj Films's romantic action drama Gunday directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, alongside Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor and Irrfan Khan.

59.

Priyanka Chopra next starred as the title character in Mary Kom, a biographical film of the five time world boxing champion and Olympic bronze medalist Mary Kom.

60.

Priyanka Chopra won the Screen Award for Best Actress, the Producers Guild Film Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and received another nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress.

61.

In 2015, Priyanka Chopra starred in Zoya Akhtar's Dil Dhadakne Do, an ensemble comedy-drama.

62.

Priyanka Chopra portrayed the role of Ayesha Mehra, a successful entrepreneur and the eldest child.

63.

Priyanka Chopra signed a talent holding deal with ABC Studios and was later cast in the American thriller series Quantico as the character Alex Parrish.

64.

The series received positive reviews from television critics and Priyanka Chopra was praised for her performance.

65.

Priyanka Chopra next portrayed Kashibai, the first wife of the Maratha general Peshwa Bajirao I, in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's epic historical romantic drama Bajirao Mastani.

66.

Priyanka Chopra brings grace to the character, and practically steals the film.

67.

In 2016, Priyanka Chopra starred as a police officer in Prakash Jha's social drama Jai Gangaajal.

68.

In 2019, Priyanka Chopra had another supporting part, as a yoga ambassador, in Todd Strauss-Schulson's comedy Isn't It Romantic, which starred Rebel Wilson.

69.

Priyanka Chopra returned to Hindi cinema later in 2019 with Shonali Bose's biographical drama The Sky Is Pink, in which she played mother to Aisha Chaudhary, a teenager suffering from a terminal illness.

70.

Priyanka Chopra produced the project, and connected with the story for its blend of humour and tragedy.

71.

Priyanka Chopra received another nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress.

72.

In 2020, Priyanka Chopra Jonas signed a multimillion-dollar first-look TV deal with Amazon Prime Video to back content by first time BIPOC and female filmmakers.

73.

Later that year, Priyanka Chopra Jonas had a supporting role in the science fiction film The Matrix Resurrections.

74.

Priyanka Chopra performed many of her own stunts, and suffered a permanent scar from an injury on her eyebrow.

75.

Priyanka Chopra used her vocal talent early in her pageantry career.

76.

Priyanka Chopra's first recording, the song "Ullathai Killathe" in the Tamil film Thamizhan, was made at the urging of her director and co-star, Vijay.

77.

Priyanka Chopra declined to sing playback for "Tinka Tinka" in her film Karam, preferring to concentrate on her acting career, but later sang the song live on the television programme Sa Re Ga Ma Pa.

78.

In July 2012, Priyanka Chopra became the first Bollywood star signed by Creative Artists Agency, an entertainment and sports agency based in Los Angeles.

79.

Priyanka Chopra was featured on "Erase", an EDM song produced by the American DJ and producer duo The Chainsmokers.

80.

In July 2013, Priyanka Chopra released her second single "Exotic" featuring American rapper Pitbull, along with its music video.

81.

Priyanka Chopra recorded a promotional song for Ventilator, making her Marathi language playback singing debut with "Baba".

82.

In 2017, Priyanka Chopra collaborated with the Australian DJ Will Sparks for "Young and Free", an EDM song which she wrote.

83.

Priyanka Chopra later said that her music career "was not living up to my standards" and that it would have been "futile" to have kept pursuing it.

84.

Priyanka Chopra donates ten percent of her earnings to fund the foundation's operations, and pays for educational and medical expenses for seventy children in India, fifty among whom are girls.

85.

Priyanka Chopra often speaks out on women's issues: against female infanticide and foeticide, and in support of education for girls.

86.

In 2006, a "day with Priyanka Chopra" was auctioned on eBay; the proceeds were donated to an NGO, Nanhi Kali, which helps educate girls in India.

87.

Priyanka Chopra has worked with UNICEF since 2006, recording public-service announcements and participating in media panel discussions promoting children's rights and the education of girls, and participated in celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

88.

Priyanka Chopra was appointed as the national UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Child Rights on 10 August 2010.

89.

Priyanka Chopra modelled for designer Manish Malhotra and Shaina NC's charity fashion show to raise funds for the Cancer Patients Aid Association NGO.

90.

In 2010 Priyanka Chopra was one of several celebrities who created promotional messages for Pearls Wave Trust, which campaigns against violence and abuse of women and girls.

91.

Priyanka Chopra launched the "Save the Girl Child" campaign, which aims to change the attitudes of Indians towards girls.

92.

In 2012 Priyanka Chopra spoke at the launch of Awakening Youth, an anti-addiction programme.

93.

Pakistan asked for Priyanka Chopra being sacked from her UN job but UN supported Priyanka Chopra's right to talk for herself.

94.

Priyanka Chopra is a supporter of environmental charities and is brand ambassador for NDTV Greenathon, an initiative to support eco-friendliness and provide solar power to rural villages without electricity supplies.

95.

Priyanka Chopra appeared with children in an animated video to support the cause, and removed rubbish from the banks of the Yamuna river in Agra to increase awareness of environmental issues.

96.

Priyanka Chopra adopted a tigress in 2011 and a lioness in 2012 at the Birsa biological park, paying for both animals upkeep for a year.

97.

Priyanka Chopra donated 5 million to Nanavati hospital to build a cancer ward.

98.

Priyanka Chopra was invited as one of the speakers alongside Gordon Brown, Steve Wozniak, Bill Clinton, and Charlie Baker for the 50th anniversary of the World Leaders Conference at the Hynes Convention Center, Boston.

99.

Priyanka Chopra spoke about women empowerment through education, discussing inequality and the challenges of education for women, and received a standing ovation for her speech.

100.

Priyanka Chopra lent her voice to a music video of John Lennon's "Imagine".

101.

Priyanka Chopra lent her support to the campaign by working as a sanitation worker for a day, cleaning and rehabilitating a garbage-laden neighbourhood in Mumbai, and urged people to maintain the cleanliness.

102.

Priyanka Chopra was appointed as the global UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in December 2016.

103.

Two years later, Priyanka Chopra was awarded the Danny Kaye Humanitarian Award by UNICEF for her "philanthropic work and dedication towards the welfare of the society" at the UNICEF Snowflake Ball 2019.

104.

Priyanka Chopra set up her production company Purple Pebble Pictures with an aim to produce small budget films and introduce and promote new talent in the Indian film industry, particularly regional Indian films.

105.

Priyanka Chopra's first Marathi film, the 2016 comedy-drama Ventilator, was a box office success and went on to win three awards at the 64th National Film Awards.

106.

Priyanka Chopra started investing in tech companies in 2018 by investing in a coding education startup called Holberton School and the dating and social media app Bumble.

107.

At the Startup India Prarambh event 2021, Priyanka Chopra said that "ideas are the currency of the present" and that she was looking forward to further invest in a mix of beauty and tech startups.

108.

In March 2021, Priyanka Chopra opened her new restaurant Sona in Manhattan, featuring haute-couture Indian cuisine.

109.

In 2007, Priyanka Chopra was on the judges' panel of the Miss India pageant.

110.

Priyanka Chopra visited Jawan troops in Tenga, in eastern India, for a special episode of the NDTV show Jai Jawan celebrating the 60th anniversary of India's independence.

111.

Priyanka Chopra performed most of her own stunts, adamant to prove that she could rival Akshay Kumar, who had hosted the previous two seasons.

112.

In February 2016, Priyanka Chopra presented the award for Best Film Editing at the 88th Academy Awards.

113.

Priyanka Chopra has participated in a number of world tours and concerts.

114.

Priyanka Chopra took part in a world concert tour, "Temptations 2004", and performed with other Bollywood actors in 19 stage shows.

115.

Priyanka Chopra began writing an opinion column for the Hindustan Times in 2009.

116.

Priyanka Chopra wrote a total of 50 columns for the newspaper.

117.

Later that year, Priyanka Chopra wrote an op-ed for The New York Times titled "What Jane Austen Knew" about the importance of education for girls.

118.

Priyanka Chopra praised and quoted Nobel Peace Prize winners Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi, and described how her desire to help others was triggered when, at 9, she joined her parents while they volunteered their spare time to offer modern health care to the rural poor.

119.

In late 2014, Chopra began writing a monthly column, "Pret-a-Priyanka", for Elle.

120.

The experience feels intimate, like Priyanka Chopra Jonas is exchanging stories with a friend over coffee.

121.

Priyanka Chopra's stories are exceedingly personal, and despite being an international movie star, many of them even feel relatable.

122.

Priyanka Chopra has maintained a strong relationship with her family, including her younger brother, Siddharth, and lives in an apartment on the same floor as her family.

123.

Priyanka Chopra was especially close to her father, who died in June 2013; in 2012, she got a tattoo reading "Daddy's lil girl" in his handwriting.

124.

Priyanka Chopra started dating American singer and actor, Nick Jonas in May 2018.

125.

Priyanka Chopra has had a Twitter account since January 2009, and is the tenth most followed Indian on the platform.

126.

In 2012, she was declared the most influential Indian on social-media in a survey conducted by Pinstorm and in 2015, Priyanka Chopra appeared in HuffPosts "100 Most Influential Women on Twitter" list, in which she was ranked first among Indians.

127.

Priyanka Chopra is the most followed Asian woman as well as one of the most-followed people on Instagram.

128.

Priyanka Chopra is the most followed and liked Indian actor on Facebook.

129.

Priyanka Chopra topped the Maxim Indias Hot 100 list in 2011,2013,2016 and 2018.

130.

Priyanka Chopra was named one of People magazines Most Beautiful Women in the World in 2017 and 2019.

131.

Priyanka Chopra has featured in the Indian edition of "Celebrity 100" every year since its inception in 2012, ranking under top fifteen each year except 2018.

132.

Priyanka Chopra ranked as the highest earning Indian female celebrity in 2016 and 2017 with respective earnings of 760 million and 680 million, peaking at the seventh position in 2017.

133.

Priyanka Chopra is a prominent celebrity endorser for brands and products.

134.

Priyanka Chopra ranked second in the list of brand ambassadors of 2008 in a survey conducted by TAM AdEx.

135.

Priyanka Chopra has represented many brands, including TAG Heuer, Pepsi, Nikon, Nokia, Garnier and Nestle; she was the first female representative of Hero Honda.

136.

In 2016, Priyanka Chopra became the first Indian woman to represent Pantene as its global brand ambassador.

137.

In 2017, Forbes reported that Priyanka Chopra earned at least $1 million per endorsement deal.

138.

In 2020, Priyanka Chopra was one among several Bollywood actors who were criticised on social media for posting Instagram messages showing solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, despite their previous work advertising skin-lightening products which perpetuate colorism.

139.

In 2009, Priyanka Chopra became the first Indian actress to cast a foot impression at the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum in Florence, Italy, and she received custom-designed shoes from the Ferragamo house.

140.

Priyanka Chopra has won a National Film Award for Best Actress for Fashion and five Filmfare Awards: Best Female Debut for Andaaz, Best Performance in a Negative Role for Aitraaz, Best Actress for Fashion, Critics Award for Best Actress for 7 Khoon Maaf, and Best Supporting Actress for Bajirao Mastani.

141.

Priyanka Chopra has won two People's Choice Awards: "Favourite Actress In A New TV Series", and "Favorite Dramatic TV Actress" for Quantico.

142.

Priyanka Chopra is the first South Asian actress to win a People's Choice Award.