Early Life and Modeling Career
Rai was born in Mangalore, Karnataka, to a family belonging to the Bunt community of Tulu Nadu. Her father, Krishnaraj Rai, is a marine biologist, while her mother, Brindya Rai, is a homemaker. Her elder brother, Aditya Rai, is an engineer with the merchant navy and the producer of the Hindi film Dil Ka Rishta (2003) (which starred Rai). Born to a conservative household, she was raised as a Hindu, a religion she continues to practice.
Soon after Rai's birth, the family moved to Mumbai, where she attended Arya Vidya Mandir Secondary School. While studying in the ninth grade, she appeared in her first modelling assignment for Camlin Pencils. After graduating from secondary school, Rai attended Jai Hind College for a year, and later passed high school from DG Ruparel College. While at Jai Hind, photographs taken by her English professor (an amateur photographer) were published in a fashion magazine. She was subsequently spotted and cast by advertising agencies for several television commercials. In 1991, Rai participated in and won a supermodel contest (organised by Ford) and was eventually featured in the American edition of Vogue. After abandoning an idea to pursue a career in medicine, Rai enrolled for a course in architecture at the Raheja College of Arts. However, she dropped out of college to pursue a full-time career as a model.
In 1993, Rai gained public recognition for her appearance in a Pepsi commercial with actor Aamir Khan. The following year, Rai participated in and stood second at the annual Femina Miss India contest (losing out to Sushmita Sen). Rai eventually won the Miss World Pageant of 1994; held at Sun City, South Africa.
Read more about this topic: Aishwarya Rai
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