Aishwarya Rai was Miss World in1994, and in 2000 she was voted Most Beautiful Miss World of All Time. She has appeared on Oprah, The Early Show, 60 Minutes, and David Letterman.

Aishwarya Rai was born in Mangalore, in the South Indian state of Karnataka. Her father, Krishnaraj Rai is a marine engineer and her mother, Vrinda Rai is a writer. She has one brother, Aditya Rai who is a film producer and is three years older than her. Her brother has produced films in which she has acted. 

Rai attended the Arya Vidya Mandir at Santacruz, Mumbai, then entered Ruparel College, Matunga, Mumbai, majoring in architecture. Her native language is Tulu, but also speaks English, Hindi, Urdu, Marathi, Tamil, and Kannada.

Rai began modeling while attending college to become an architect. In the 1994 she competed in the Miss India contest, where she placed second, but went on to win the Miss World title that same year and also the Miss Photogenic award. After her one year reign as Miss World in London, she then worked as a professional model.

Rai has acted in numerous films. Since 2004 she has also been appearing in an increasing number of English language films.

In 2002, Rai appeared in Devdas, which was a huge hit. The film attracted overseas attention as well as receiving a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival..

In 2003 Rai was a member of the jury at Cannes. In 2004, she was chosen by TIME Magazine's Asian Edition as one of Asia's "100 Most Influential People." A wax figure of Rai is on display in London's Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. 

Rai appeared at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, as part of a performance showcasing Indian culture on behalf of the 2010 Commonwealth Games which will be held in New Delhi. For her three-minute dance performance, Rai was reportedly paid approximately $600,000 U.S. dollars.

Rai has been described by others in the film industry as having traditional values and being a paragon of age-old, dutiful Indian femininity. As a practicing Hindu, she has described herself as having immense faith in its gods and when at home she attends the Siddhivinayak Mandir devoted to Lord Ganesh. When not traveling, Rai lives in Mumbai with her parents.

Rai has been nominated four times in the Best Actress category and once in the Best Supporting Actress category at the Filmfare Awards. She also has won numerous awards. Aishwarya also has a breed of tulip named after her as well.