Aishwarya Rai

A superstar in her native India and around the globe, as well as one of the entertainment industry's most acclaimed beauties, Aishwayra Rai was a former model whose ethereal looks were matched by an apparently limitless grasp of drama, comedy, musicals and action films in her native country. A former model, Rai began her acting career in ornamental roles in light comedies and musicals before showing her range in more dramatic fare like 1999's "Taal." Her breakthrough role came in the blockbuster "Devdas" (2002), which brought her international acclaim. Soon Rai was gracing the cover of magazines, which dubbed her among the world's most beautiful women. More hit films like the action thriller "Dhoom 2" (2006), as well as forays into English language films like "The Mistress of Spices" (2005), "Provoked" (2007) and "The Pink Panther 2" (2009) increased Rai's global exposure, as did a highly publicized marriage to fellow superstar Abhishek Bachchan. By 2010, Rai was among the most recognized performers in the world, and received one of her country's highest honors, the Padma Shri, among her growing accolades. Though Rai had yet to earn her Hollywood starmaking role, the stratospheric quality of her Indian career proved that Western celebrity was only a film away.