America has been so welcoming to me.
— Priyanka Chopra
I have great Indian genes! You know, I'm lazy. I want to take advantage of the fact that I have a great metabolism. When I start getting fat, I'll work on it! I like food, and I don't like the gym, and as long as I look like this without doing anything, why bother?
I'm really strict with my skincare regimen. No matter what's happening in my life, I wash my face every single night and I moisturize - even if it's 4 A.M.
One girl used to call me Brownie and tell me to go back to my own country. At lunch, I'd get a bag of chips from the vending machine and eat it in the storage room so I wouldn't have to see her.
I don't think Bond does too much; he's just suave and sexy. He rolls out with his martini and fancy cars. Wow, it sounds like my life already.
I think 'Baywatch' will be a summer blockbuster, and I'm not just saying it because I'm in it. I saw a bunch of scenes right now, and it's the funniest movie ever. Dwayne and Zac Efron have the best chemistry, and I come and interrupt their chemistry.
I've never dated; I've always been in relationships.
I think it was very important for me to look at starting to build a safety net so that I didn't feel the insecurity of the ups and downs of finances because I might do no film a year, or I might do six commercials, or I might do none.
In India, people love turmeric. They make turmeric milk, and sometimes I mix it with some cream or yogurt and turn it into a scrub. You'd be amazed at what it can take off your skin.
Art is collaboration: we are artists all over the world. I believe that people are always going to watch Hindi films... that's never going to die, but I think it's amazing that collaborations like that are happening.
I never thought I am a stylish. For me, style is always a representation of what you want to wear but doing it in a unique way and expressing yourself. Every girl loves to be stylish.
I lost my dad two years ago to cancer, and before he died, I asked him to write 'Daddy's Little Girl' on a piece of paper for me. I told him it was for an album. He practiced and practiced and then sent it to me, and I had it tattooed onto my wrist and surprised him with it. He cried when he saw it, happy tears. This way I always carry him with me.
I'm trying to be global and trying to push us, as a society, to becoming colorblind, and so I'm very grateful to ABC for casting me in 'Quantico.' It was based on my merit, not on my ethnicity.
I'm not even Indian-American: I'm Indian-Indian. Everybody expected me to have henna and a nose pin and talk in an accent like Apu from 'The Simpsons.' I was nervous because I wasn't sure if America was ready for a lead that looked like me.
I speak, Hindi, English, and American. I'm trilingual.
Black, brown, white, yellow - why are we always talking about colors? I'm a girl. I believe in a global community.
Art should not be bound by barriers or language. The Hindi film industry is a testament to that. We speak only Hindi, but we premiere in Germany and Japan. Our films do phenomenally well there. We transcend the barriers of language and culture. We welcome you in. I think that's what art should be, and I hope America reaches that place.
I think great skin is always important. With lots of makeup, by the end of the night, you look like you're melting!
I don't believe in being a size 0. I don't believe in starving. Women should totally embrace their curves.
When I'm not shooting, I don't wear much makeup. I just moisturize and maybe put on a berry-colored balm on my lips and cheeks, and then mascara - that's it. My face and hair gets abused every single day, so I try take it easy on off days.
Production is a lot of work. Nobody sent me that memo when they came to me to do television.
Who doesn't want to be, like, five inches taller whenever they can be? If boys could, they'd be wearing heels.
I totally commit and completely give myself to a relationship. Be warned, though - I don't like being taken for granted, so I can be pretty high-maintenance sometimes!
I like buying drones, hover boards, 360-degree cameras and fabulous cars. I am a little bit like a boy. I also spend a lot on books. I am a voracious reader, and I love vintage stores and first editions.
When it comes to an everyday situation, I am like an ant. I keep putting money aside because I know that if I want to splurge, there is a big mountain of money that I can use.
Beauty and fashion are not really local anymore. You really have to be a global citizen to know what trends are. Now, it's pretty much the same designers and the same kind of trends, whether I am in New York, Milan, or Mumbai - it's the same.
So many people from the West are coming into India, all the studios have come into India, and they're making films here, whether that's Fox, Warner Bros, Disney, everyone. That stands as testament for us, so why are we afraid of sharing our talent with the world? We must.
Bollywood is not a stepping stone to the West. I am extremely picky and in no hurry to sign a Hollywood film. I am only greedy for great roles; language and country is no barrier. And yes, I'll always be a Hindi film star first.
When I was little, my dad used to call me 'Bandarella,' because I was a mess - a Bandar is a monkey in Hindi. I was not a girly-girl and would always break something and would be running around and didn't really fit in.
After I won Miss India, I realised I do not like failing. I just like being the best. I hate being a loser. So I just have to keep winning.
I am a little - I won't say arrogant - self-assured.
When I grew up in America, I didn't see anyone who looked like me on TV. I feel overwhelmed with the things that people have said to me. When I meet Indian Americans who've lived here all their lives, it's overwhelming people holding me and crying. Someone said to me, 'Thank you for making us relevant.' It's such a big thing.
Stardom should be a discovery. You don't hammer it onto people's heads. You don't demand it. You command it.
I was very sure I did not want to be the stereotype of what Indian people are seen as, which is Bollywood and henna. That's all great! It's what we are, and I love it. I love saris; I love music. I love henna; I love dancing, but that's not all we are.
You need to feel comfortable. When you're comfortable, you feel confident. And when you're confident, the world is your oyster. Most important, you gotta feel what you wear.
After every bath, I make sure to moisturize my entire body. I'm obsessed with Diptyque: people love their candles, but their body products are also amazing.
Don't try to squeeze into a glass slipper. Instead, shatter the glass ceiling.
I always get stopped by security and immigration, telling me, 'Tell me who the terrorist is, or we won't stamp your passport!' The last time that somebody did that to me - at LAX, actually - I was like, 'Hey, don't ever ask a brown girl that in an American airport!'
I think because I was Miss World, and I modeled for a little while, I have - I just like heels, actually. I think that's the truth. I'm trying to find an excuse.
You like someone, you court each other, you get into a relationship. You're answerable to each other. Whereas, the non-answerability of dating, my God, I don't know if I would ever be able to.
Financial independence is paramount. My mom always says that when a woman is financially independent, she has the ability to live life on her own terms. I think that was the soundest advice that I ever got. No matter where you go in life or who you get married to, you have to be financially independent - whether you use it or not.
I've always had a glam squad to do my makeup because of Miss India and Miss World, so I never really learned much about doing it myself, unfortunately. I do try to pick up what I can, though! The most incredible product that has ever been discovered in makeup, according to me, is mascara.
I felt so out of place at the Miss India pageant. I had just come back from America, and I was told I needed to lose my American accent and learn the Queen's English, so I had to enunciate my vowels and speak well and eloquently. Giving up a New York accent is pretty hard.
To convince another part of the world that Bollywood is not just jokers who break into song and dance was very difficult. I'm literally ploughing the ground and making people understand that Indian actors are not a joke.
When there is a ring on my finger, which is actually given to me, then I'll tell the world. Till then, no one can claim me.
In my 20s, I used to have a lot more energy! I was this skydiving, bungee-jumping adrenaline junkie. I don't know what happened to me! Now that I'm in my early 30s, I've put all that energy into my work, although I'm still a little ridiculous. In your 30s, you're sensible enough to know better, but still stupid enough to do stupid things.
I have never had a plan when it comes to my career: America came to me with an opportunity.
When I was in school, you never saw anyone who looked like us that was on TV. And that was really weird for me because there's so many people of South Asian descent in America - in the world.
I wanted to be cast because I'm an actor and not because of how I look or where I'm from. I'm brown. I want to be able to play a Spanish girl some day or a Mexican girl and learn the language. That's what actors do: we act.
I was bullied by a freshman named Jeanine. She was black and supremely racist. Jeanine used to say, 'Brownie, go back to your country. You smell of curry,' or 'Do you smell curry coming?'
