Aishwarya Rai was born in Mangalore, in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, on November 1st, 1973. Her father, a merchant navy officer, relocated the family to Mumbai (formerly Bombay) when Aishwarya was four years old. She excelled at academics as a child and chose science as her area of concentration, hoping for a career in medicine (zoology being her favorite subject at the time). Instead, Ash -- one of her nicknames -- opted for a career in architecture, and passed her college entrance interviews with flying colors. Aishwarya entered the world of modeling when she was in the 9th grade, appearing in an ad for Camlin Industries. Initially, she modeled part-time, while focusing on her studies. As more assignments started rolling in, Ash decided to take a break from architecture and concentrate on modeling. Aishwarya became well known in India after she appeared in a Pepsi commercial. Other high-profile assignments quickly followed, including Palmolive, Casio pagers, Philips, Sheetal diva, and Prudent. What started off as a part-time activity quickly grew into a full-fledged career, as more companies hired the young beauty with the magnificent blue-green (and sometimes blue-gray) eyes.
