'White Tiger' actor Priyanka Chopra turns 39: 7 times the Bollywood and Hollywood star made headlines

As someone who is considered India's biggest global icon, Priyanka Chopra is almost always on top of her game. From being the reigning queen of Bollywood to bagging multiple Hollywood projects, the star has mastered the art of enjoying the best of both worlds. As PeeCee, as fans like to call her, turns 39 today, lets take a look at 7 times the actor made headlines

Chopra-Jonas, who lives with her pop star husband, Nick Jonas, in California is currently in London to film her upcoming series ‘Citadel’. But she took some time out to chill pool side as she marked her big day. She posted pictures on her Insta handle, complete with an "Expectation vs reality" series. As the ‘Quantico’ actor celebrates the milestone in London with cousin Divya Jyoti and James Cavanaugh in London, we look at seven times the actor’s star shone bright.

As Aishwarya Rai Bachchan did before her in the David Letterman show, Priyanka has also had to break misconceptions people tend to have about Indians and about Bollywood. In his show, host Seth Meyers admitted to Chopra that he believed that Bollywood was a genre of its own. Priyanka replied and said this is one of the stereotypes about India that she is irritated by. She said, "That's what annoys me so much. I didn't even think I realised that when I was working in Hindi films that Bollywood has been reduced to a genre, when it's not. We have action and drama, it's like Hollywood, but Bollywood's not even a place, Hollywood is a place. At Trader Joe's I saw Bollywood flavoured pop corn. How do put a flavour to an entire industry? What would Hollywood's flavour be?"

Priyanka Chopra’s memoir ‘Unfinished’ made it to the New York Times’ best-seller list The book traced Chopra Jonas’ remarkable 20-year-long journey as an actor, producer and her stint as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. The actress got candid and personal, revealing that when she was in high school, other kids would shout racist comments at her in the hallways.

The ex-Miss World has spoken out about a nose surgery gone wrong in the early years of her career in her memoir which was a major blow to her self-esteem. After experiencing a "lingering head cold" in 2001 becaue of a nasal polyp, the actress underwent a polypectomy. The removal went horribly wrong and she was deeply affected by how different she looked after the surgery. The Quantico star underwent a series of corrective procedures and has now come to terms with a ‘slightly different' version of herself.

PeeCee, as she is affectionately called, has now turned to major Hollywood projects including The Matrix 4, with Carrie-Anne Moss and Keanu Reeves making a comeback as Trinity and Neo, respectively. Jada Pinkett Smith, Lambert Wilson, and Daniel Bernhardt also reprise their roles from previous movies. Her current project is also a major one - Citadel is a much-awaited event sci-fi and spy TV series helmed by the Russo Brothers (best known for the last two Avengers movies). Bridging the gap between Bollywood and Hollywood, Priyanka was also cast as the female lead of Cowboy Ninja Viking, also starring Chris Pratt. The story was about an assassin who possesses multiple personalities. Sangeet is another project is an unscripted series for Amazon Studios, that PeeCee is producing with her husband, singer Nick Jonas, based on the eponymous pre-wedding dance ceremony and an untitled wedding comedy with Mindy Kaling.

Priyanka Chopra Jonas regretted endorsing fairness creams during her time in Bollywood. “[Skin lightening] was so normalised in South Asia; it’s such a large industry that everyone was doing it. In fact, doing it is still a check [mark] when you are a female actor, but it’s awful,” she said in an interview with Marie Claire magazine. “And it was awful for me, for a little girl who used to put talcum-powder cream on my face because I believed that dark skin was not pretty.” Jonas has also reportedly addressed being labelled “dusky” by industry influencers and the media at a time when colourism and racism needs to be called out.

Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor started off friendly enough when they worked on ‘Aitraaz’, but then had a huge fight while travelling together for a concert. What grabbed headlines in magazines, and even does the round on social media nowadays, is when on an episode of ‘Koffee With Karan’, Kapoor took a dig at Chopa’s accent and she returned the jibe with one of her own. They’ve both obviously gotten over it though – Kapoor recently praised Chopra’s work.

As a close friend of Meghan Markle's, Priyanka was one of the first Indians to attend the Royal Wedding this year. The actress wore a custom Vivienne Westwood lavender suit and a Philip Treacy fascinator that exactly complimented her outfit. An asymmetrical neckline, crystal buttons, and a cocktail-length skirt rounded off the outfit.