Happy Birthday Aishwarya Rai: Unseen photos of the former Miss World winner

Aishwarya Rai turns 47 this year and continues to remain an epitome of beauty and grace. The former Miss World is not just a noted Bollywood actor but is a known name across the globe as well.

Rai garnered critical appreciation for portraying a passionate artist in the Tamil romance Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000), Tagore's heroine, Binodini, in the Bengali film Chokher Bali (2003), a depressed woman in the drama Raincoat (2004), Kiranjit Ahluwalia in the British drama film Provoked (2006), and a nurse in the drama Guzaarish (2010). Rai's greatest commercial successes have been the romance Mohabbatein (2000), the adventure film Dhoom 2 (2006), the historical romance Guru (2007) and Jodhaa Akbar (2008), the science fiction film Enthiran (2010), and the romantic drama Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016).

Rai married actor Abhishek Bachchan in 2007; the couple have one daughter. Her off-screen roles include duties as a brand ambassador for several charity organisations and campaigns. She is a Goodwill Ambassador for the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS). In 2003, she was the first Indian actress to be a jury member at the Cannes Film Festival.

In 1993, Rai gained huge public recognition for her appearance in a Pepsi commercial with actors Aamir Khan and Mahima Chaudhry. The single line – "Hi, I'm Sanjana," of her dialogue in the commercial made her instantly famous.

Rai made her acting debut in 1997 with Mani Ratnam's Tamil film Iruvar, a semi-biographical political drama, featuring Mohanlal, Prakash Raj, Tabu and Revathi. The film was a critical success and among other awards, won the Best Film award at the Belgrade International Film Festival.

In late 2004, Rai garnered international recognition for her starring role opposite Martin Henderson in Gurinder Chadha's British film Bride and Prejudice, a Bollywood-style adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice. International film critics expressed mixed views on Rai's performance as the Punjabi version of Elizabeth Bennet; a review carried by The New York Times mentioned her as "radiantly beautiful but inert"

Through her successful acting career, she has established herself as one of the most popular and influential celebrities in India.

Rai has received numerous accolades, including two Filmfare Awards, and was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2009 and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France in 2012.