Prior to Manushi Chhillar
Manushi Chhillar is all set to make her smashing debut opposite superstar Akshay Kumar in Prithviraj, the trailer of which was launched today amid much fanfare along with her superstar costar and the movie’s Director, Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi. However, Bollywood has had a long line of beauty queens trying their luck in the industry with varying results, some of which we bet will surprise you. Check them out below along with what they’re doing now…
Zeenat Aman
Miss Asia Pacific 1970 winner Zeenat Aman had a long and successful Bollywood innings. After retiring from the screen for several decades, she has made sporadic comebacks of late in both films and web series.
Juhi Chawla
The Miss India 1984 winner ruled the roost in the 90s before making rare appearances after marriage and kids. She’s choosy about her projects these days while also dedicating time toward environmental issues and her IPL team, Kolkata Knight Riders, co-owned with superstar and close friend Shah Rukh Khan.
Aishwarya Rai
The Miss World 1994 winner enjoyed success both in Bollywood and Hollywood, and despite hardly acting of late, makes regular appearances at international events and global brand launches.
Sushmita Sen
The Miss Universe 1994 winner had a stop -start run in Bollywood, but is enjoying success these days in her second innings with the successful web series, Aarya.
Lara Dutta
The Miss Universe 2000 winner also had a stop-start career initially in Bollywood, before enjoying her second innings in web shows. She has also married tennis Mahesh Bhupathi and has a daughter with him.
Priyanka Chopra
The Miss World 2000 winner has arguably had the most successful screen career of all beauty queens, what with her storied career in both Bollywood and Hollywood. She’s married to music heartthrob Nick Jonas and the two recently became parents through surrogacy.
Neha Dhupia
The Miss India 2002 winner didn’t taste much success as a leading lady in Bollywood, but has since established herself in strong, supporting roles as also on the reality-show scene. She’s married to actor Angad Bedi and they share two kids.
Dia Mirza
The Miss Asia Pacific 2000 winner tasted some success in Bollywood, but never the kind that could make her a star. Later, she began a production house, Born Free Entertainment, with ex-husband Sahil Sangha. After divorcing him, she launched her own production house, One India Stories. She has since married businessman Vaibhav Rekhi, with whom she has a son, Avyaan Azaad Rekhi. Of late, has tasted success again on screen with the all-time blockbuster movie, Sanju, and the web series, Kaafir.
Jacqueline Fernandez
The Miss Sri Lanka 2006 winner is currently enjoying a relatively successful Bollywood stint, but has recently been embroiled in a financial controversy off screen.
Meenakshi Seshadri
The Miss India 1981 winner was one of the top actresses in Bollywood through the late 1980s and early 90s before giving it all up after marriage and settling with her husband and kids in Texas, USA, where she teaches Bharatanatyam, Kathak, and Odissi dance forms.
Namrata Shirodkar
The Miss Indian 1993 winner gave up acting after doing a few Bollywood and South movie and is now happily married to Telugu film superstar Mahesh Babu, with who she shares a son and daughter.
Pooja Batra
The Miss India International 1993 winner did a few movies in Hindi and South before marrying a Los Angeles-based doctor in 2002, which ended in 2010. She has since tied the knot with actor Nawab Shah in 2019, and continues to make sporadic film appearances across languages.
Tanushree Dutta
The Miss India 2004 winner was appreciated for some time in Bollywood for her bold appearances. After a long hiatus, she returned from the US to India and levied allegations of sexual harassment against actor Nana Patekar and Director Vivek Agnihotri. Choreographer Ganesh Acharya’s name was also dragged into the allegations. Nana Patekar has since been cleared of all charges, which have been cited as “malicious” and “revengeful” in a report.
Celina Jaitly
The Miss India 2001 winner tasted a bit of success in Bollywood, but was never able to make her mark. She has since married Austrian entrepreneur and hotelier Peter Haag. The couple ae parents to twin boys.
