Bet You Didn’t Know These 10 Interesting Facts About Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

by Fandonie · Published October 29, 2014 · Updated October 30, 2014

Former Miss World, and one of Bollywood’s top A-listers, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan celebrates her birthday on November 1. While most of us know that before entering Bollywood she was a beauty queen, she is married to Abhishek Bachchan and she has a cute-as-a-button baby girl, Aaradhya, here are 10 interesting facts about the Bollywood beauty that you may not know:

1. Born in Mangalore, Karnataka, to Krishnaraj, a marine biologist, and Brindya Rai, Aishwarya was a brilliant student had aims of being an architect, but opted for modeling instead.

2. Her nickname is Gullu.

3. Her first commercial was for Camlin pencils when she was just in 9th standard.

4. Aishwarya, who essayed the role of Umrao Jaan, first played by Rekha on the big screen, met Rekha many years earlier before she entered Bollywood. While grocery shopping with her Mom in Mumbai, Aishwarya received a tap on the shoulder. She turned around to find none other than Rekha. Rekha complimented the young Aishwarya on her good looks and wished her all the best.

5. Aish’s favorite film is Casablanca, starring Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart. One of her favorite Hindi films is Deewar, which stars none other than her father-in-law, Amitabh Bachchan, in the lead role.

6. In 2005 Mattel released a limited edition range of Barbie dolls inspired by Aishwarya in Britain. The dolls were sold out within minutes and are now considered collectibles.

7. Aishwarya speaks 6 languages- English, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Urdu and Tulu.

8. Aishwarya can be touted with many firsts, including: (a) She was the first Indian actress to be a guest on the Oprah Winfrey show in the US; (b) She is the first Indian female to have her wax statue at Madame Tussauds in London; (c) She is first Indian actress to be on the jury of the Cannes International Film Festival.