Happy birthday Priyanka Chopra; how she became a self-made movie star without starring in movies

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Actor Priyanka Chopra celebrates her 37th birthday on Thursday, a major milestone not just personally, but also professionally. In recent years, the actor has transitioned into a world beyond films; her public persona, like Lady Gaga, is a performance in itself. The actor has utilised various avenues besides movies to maintain her position at the top of not just one industry, but several.

In 2018, Priyanka was named among the 100 most powerful women in the world; one of only four Indians. She was also featured on Variety’s list of the 500 most influential business leaders in the world. Just last week, she topped the Hollywood Reporter’s ranking of global celebrity social media climbers, beating her Baywatch co-actor, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson at the top of the list. This was the third time in four weeks that she’d bagged the honour, and 12th overall.

Priyanka’s social media presence is a key factor in her rise to the top, and her ability to stay there. She is the most followed Indian celebrity on Instagram, with more than 40 million followers. Her closest competitors are Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt.

Happy birthday Priyanka Chopra: Seen here with Nick Jonas at the Billboard Music Awards in May. ( Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP )

She combines this with a steady flow of magazine covers, and is featured by top publications. In recent months, Priyanka has appeared on the cover of at least five magazines. Her keen business mind extends to a world beyond her production house. She monetised most aspects of her recent wedding to American singer Nick Jonas.

Everything from choosing to celebrate her wedding shower at Tiffany & Co in New York City, to partnering up with Amazon for a special wedding registry and handing over exclusive rights to her wedding pictures to Vogue was pre-planned. In fact, even Nick partnered up with a vodka company for his bachelor party. Talent Resources’ Matt Kirschner told E! News, “For people like her, it’s not just about money. It’s about finding a brand that makes sense for her. She doesn’t need their money. She makes plenty of money on her own.”

Priyanka supplanted screen performances with frequent, high-profile public appearances. In recent months, she has walked the red carpet at the prestigious Vanity Fair Oscars party, the Grammys, the Billboard Music Awards, the Cannes Film Festival and the Met Gala.

Happy birthday Priyanka Chopra: Here she is seen at this year’s Met Gala with husband Nick Jonas.

She makes headlines almost daily thanks to her globe-trotting lifestyle, which she ensures is shared on social media – everything from vacations with Nick to family holidays. In fact, a recent image shared by her on Instagram was ‘liked’ three million times.

Happy birthday Priyanka Chopra: Seen her with Nick in Provence during Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas’ wedding.

This is in direct contrast to her professional career as an actor. She hasn’t appeared in a lead role (in movies) since her last Bollywood outing in 2016, Jai Gangaajal. She publicly dropped out of what was supposed to be her big comeback, Bharat. Her most high-profile Hollywood film, Baywatch, was widely panned. Besides this, her TV show, Quantico, was quietly cancelled after three seasons. Her two other Hollywood roles, in A Kid Like Jake and Isn’t it Romantic, were glorified cameos. But such is her popularity that she was a major face during the publicity tour for Isn’t it Romantic.

As for the future, Priyanka has one Bollywood film in the pipeline (The Sky is Pink), and one new Hollywood project (Barry Levinson’s Maa Anand Sheela biopic).