Aishwarya Rai (Ash) is one of Bollywood's pre-eminent leading ladies. This Indian darling burst upon the world stage when her striking beauty, poise and commanding intelligence won her the Miss World crown in 1994. This former architecture major soon became one of India's most famous models, landing a prestigious Pepsi-Cola campaign and appearing in Vogue Magazine. India's top Bollywood directors were soon lining up to work with Ash. Her film debut in Mani Ratnam's Iruvar (1997) received critical acclaim and her performance in ...Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya (1997), directed by Rahul Rawail, garnered her the Best Female Debutante Award. In 2000 she was awarded Best Actress by FilmFare and Zee Cine for her work in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) in that same year, nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her special appearance in Aditya Chopra's Mohabbatein (2000). In 2001 Ash was nominated for FilmFare's Best Actress Award for Satish Kaushik's Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai (2000).

Ash's star continued to rise in 2002, working again with Sajay Leela Bhansali in Devdas (2002), the most ambitious and most successful film in Bollywood history. It became the first Bollywood picture to receive a special screening at that year's Cannes Film Festival and broke box-office records in India and the US.

Ash had even more exciting opportunities in 2003. She became the first Indian actor to be a member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival. She is also the latest member of the elite L'Oreal Dream Team, joining renowned international beauties Catherine Deneuve and Andie MacDowell as L'Oreal's international ambassador. She graced the covers of India Today and the prestigious TIME Magazine, which also listed her on their list of the "100 Most Influential People in the World Today". She has graced numerous covers worldwide including the US, UK, China, Russia, Israel, United Emerites, Italy, Spain and France. Ash was also listed on Rolling Stone Magazine's annual "Hot List", Hello Magazine's 'Most Attractive Women in the World", Stuff Magazine, FHM magazine, V-Life from Variety Magazine, GQ Magazine, New York Times Magazine, Harper's & Queen and countless others. In 2004 Aishwarya took on the leading role in her first English-language film: Gurinder Chadha's Bride & Prejudice (2004). She also became the first Indian female to be immortalized in wax at the world-famous Madame Tussaud's wax museum in London.

She began 2005 with appearances on 60 Minutes (1968), Late Show with David Letterman (1993) and the most watched television program in the world: "Oprah" (1972). Her career continued to grow with roles in The Mistress of Spices (2005) for director Paul Mayeda Berges, Jag Mundhra's Provoked: A True Story (2006), Sanjay Gadhvi's Dhoom 2 (2006) and legendary producer Dino De Laurentiis' The Last Legion (2007) opposite Colin Firth and Sir Ben Kingsley and a comic turn as the villainess in Steve Martin's The Pink Panther 2 (2009).