Pageants, films, books? Check. But for Priyanka Chopra Jonas, there's still much ahead
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
2/3/2021 Pageants, films, books. Priyanka Chopra looks to doing more - Los Angeles Times
LOG IN
ADVERTISEMENT
AWARDS
Pageants, films, books? Check. But for Priyanka Chopra Jonas,
there’s still much ahead
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2021-02-03/priyanka-chopra-white-tiger-nick-jonas-memoir-unfinished 1/92/3/2021 Pageants, films, books. Priyanka Chopra looks to doing more - Los Angeles Times
Priyanka Chopra Jonas stars in Netflix’s new “The White Tiger” and has a memoir, “Unfinished,” publishing next week. (Jay
L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
By RANDEE DAWN
FEB. 3, 2021 5:30 AM PT
A virtual interview reveals many things: When Priyanka Chopra Jonas calls in for a chat
first thing in the morning, she’s fully made-up and fashionable, a fireplace roaring in the
background. Turns out she’d gone glam for something else, a group interview ahead of
her new memoir, “Unfinished,” and happily reveals that out of the camera view she’s
sitting around in sweatpants. A veteran actor, Miss World 2000, former UNICEF
goodwill ambassador and wife to a Jonas brother (Nick), Indian-born Chopra Jonas
contains multitudes.
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2021-02-03/priyanka-chopra-white-tiger-nick-jonas-memoir-unfinished 2/92/3/2021 Pageants, films, books. Priyanka Chopra looks to doing more - Los Angeles Times
She also plays the most sympathetic character in Netflix’s new “The White Tiger,” a
dark, funny, socially pointed thriller about a lowly servant who aspires to greatness in
modern, tech-savvy India. Chopra Jonas recently spoke with The Envelope.
I’ve never interviewed anyone who once was considered the most beautiful
woman in the world. Is that memory the sort of thing you keep in your back
pocket for days when you’re feeling low?
[Chuckling] No, when I won Miss India and then Miss World, I was very insecure. I was
gawky, and I used to be so introverted. When I won, it didn’t register in my brain — I
didn’t rest on my laurels; I just went on to the next thing. I’ve always been competitive
and ambitious. Miss World was a step in my ladder, but it was never a validation about
how I felt about myself.
You’ve become dedicated to feminist causes in the years since. Has that
changed your opinion about beauty pageants?
There’s two sides to that coin, and I agree with both of them. My pageant gave me a
massive opportunity. In those two pageants — the only ones I’ve really ever been in — I
was not reduced to my looks. I was taught to sharpen my wit, speak with eloquence, to
engage with heads of state and journalists.
You make it sound like finishing school.
It was, because I came from high school. I was in my sneakers and jeans at that point.
Suddenly, I was in stilettos and speaking to heads of states and having opinions on
economies. I had to learn. It was either sink or swim. I had to choose to swim.
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2021-02-03/priyanka-chopra-white-tiger-nick-jonas-memoir-unfinished 3/92/3/2021 Pageants, films, books. Priyanka Chopra looks to doing more - Los Angeles Times
ADVERTISEMENT
PAID CONTENT
[Watch] This Illustrator’s Art and the Genesis
GV80 Want to Evoke a...
By Genesis
Do things the way you want, not how you were taught.
In “White Tiger,” we get a snapshot of an India many American viewers
might not be familiar with — the servant culture. How accurate is it?
The movie is a reflection on a class divide that exists around the world. This is an inside-
out perspective of a man who is trying to pull himself out of the circumstances of his
birth, and the hunger he has of ambition. That is what is important to focus on. I cannot
ever comment on what is accurate or not for a country as large as India — but it is
definitely accurate as the story of an underdog. That exists around the world.
Before all of this — pageants and acting — you had planned to study
aeronautical engineering. What was the appeal?
My parents were both doctors, and I come from a very academic family. I knew at a very
young age that I did not want to be a doctor. And I was an academic cockroach — I loved
math, physics, science. As an 11-year-old, I flew for the first time on a military plane to
meet my dad. I remember thinking, “How can you fly?” The aerodynamics of it was
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2021-02-03/priyanka-chopra-white-tiger-nick-jonas-memoir-unfinished 4/92/3/2021 Pageants, films, books. Priyanka Chopra looks to doing more - Los Angeles Times
magical to me. So I remember leaning into physics. I was always fascinated with planes,
and now I spend most of my life on them.
ADVERTISEMENT
You now have this enormous international celebrity, and two years ago you
married someone who is also internationally famous. Did that familiarity
with the spotlight provide some connection for you two early on?
No, the celebrity of it was not even a conversation in our lives. We just met as a boy and
girl. He slid into my DMs on Twitter and reached out to me. We loved the fact that we
came from really large families, we have the same family values, the same ambitions,
and we dream big. Also, we both don’t know how to cook. My husband can make great
sandwiches, though, so we’ll survive.
Your memoir, “Unfinished,” comes out next week from Penguin Random
House. What, for you, remains unfinished?
I want to take on roles that make me nervous and uncomfortable. I want to check in
with my artistic self and lean in as a producer and tell the stories I want to see — female
stories, South Asian stories. I want to be an entrepreneur. Probably have a family.
There’s so much. I feel like it’s been 20 years that I’ve been doing this, but there’s so
much that, God willing, given the opportunity I still want to do.
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2021-02-03/priyanka-chopra-white-tiger-nick-jonas-memoir-unfinished 5/92/3/2021 Pageants, films, books. Priyanka Chopra looks to doing more - Los Angeles Times
AWARDS MOVIES BOOKS OSCARS
From the Emmys to the Oscars.
Get our revamped Envelope newsletter for exclusive awards season coverage, behind-the-scenes insights
and columnist Glenn Whipp’s commentary.
Enter Email Address
SIGN ME UP
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
Randee Dawn
MORE FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
TELEVISION
Golden Globes embrace saucy Netflix shows — except fan favorite
‘Bridgerton’
1 hour ago
AWARDS
The good old days in these 1960s-set films means the spirit of outrage
and protest
1 hour ago
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2021-02-03/priyanka-chopra-white-tiger-nick-jonas-memoir-unfinished 6/9You can also read
