The actress Julia Roberts called the 'most beautiful woman in the world' 20 years ago and what she looks like now
At the time, Rai was already dominating Indian cinema with 24 films under her belt.
Roberts' comment came as Rai was generating international buzz for her breakout role in Bride and Prejudice, a vibrant Bollywood-style adaptation of Pride and Prejudice that introduced her to Western audiences.
And that wasn't her first Austen moment either—she'd previously wowed critics with her performance in Kandukondain Kandukondain, a retelling of Sense and Sensibility, earning rave reviews.
Rai's rise to stardom began long before Hollywood, when she was crowned Miss India in 1994 and went on to win the Miss World pageant, instantly cementing her status as one of the most breathtaking women in the world.
Two decades later, she's still turning heads—Rai recently made a stunning return to the global stage, commanding the 2025 Cannes Film Festival red carpet with two unforgettable looks.
On day one, she dazzled in an ivory Manish Malhotra saree featuring intricate silver zari and rose gold embroidery.
She followed it up with a dramatic black Gaurav Gupta gown complete with a sweeping cape—proving she's still a red carpet force.
Despite the fanfare and iconic praise from Roberts, Rai has always remained grounded about her appearance.
'I am really OK with the way I look, it's fine,' she told CBS in 2004.
'All this is transient. I mean, it's really, you know, it changes with time, and that's the external.'
In the same interview, Rai revealed that acting was never part of her original plan.
Raised in a strict, middle-class household by a merchant marine father and a writer mother, she had her sights set on a very different path.
A straight-A student, she was on track to become an architect—until the Miss World pageant came along and changed everything.
Rai said she only entered the competition because she hoped to shift global perceptions of India.
'For me, it went beyond being a beauty queen,' she explained.
'For me, it was about being the 20-year-old girl from India on [an] international platform and a lot of people actually would assume that I wasn't even educated in India because of the way I'd speak.
'And they'd be like, "Have you studied in India? Do you actually speak English out there?" and, I was like, "This is so interesting that so many people know so little about my country."
'And this is exactly what I wanted to do when I set out on this little mission in my head.'
Before settling down, Aishwarya Rai's love life drew intense media attention.
She began dating Salman Khan in 1999, but their tumultuous relationship ended in 2002.
She then had a brief romance with actor Vivek Oberoi, which fizzled out by 2005.
Despite the headlines, Rai remained focused on her career and kept her personal life mostly private.
That changed when sparks flew with Abhishek Bachchan on the set of Dhoom 2—and this time, the love stuck.
The couple went public with their engagement in January 2007 and tied the knot just a few months later in a lavish ceremony.
Their fairytale continued with the birth of their daughter, Aaradhya, on November 16, 2011—instantly making her one of the most famous celebrity kids in India.
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