Priyanka Chopra

She grew up everywhere from India to the US, won Miss World in 2000, starred in 50 Hindi movies and now, with Quantico and Baywatch, Priyanka Chopra is giving Indian women a face in pop culture.

Beauty queen to big screen

Say “Priyanka Chopra” to the average woman and you might get an ode to her endorsement-worthy hair, a take on what makes her compulsively watchable as agent Alex Parrish in Quantico or speculation about whom she is dating. Say her name to the average Indian woman, and you’ll get a proud earful about why “our girls” are so beautiful, which of her 50 Hindi movies is best and what her presence as the first Indian lead on a major US network show means for our future. All of which is to say, Priyanka is already causing quite a commotion. And now, making her US film debut as villain Victoria Leeds in the action comedy Baywatch, she is poised to bring some much-needed diversity to the Hollywood big screen.

This is a particularly interesting moment for an immigrant to be fronting a TV show and appearing in a quintessentially American movie, a fact not lost on her, she understands how essential seeing a face like hers can be for the millions of people who don’t fit the blondhaired, blue-eyed ideal. “Kids from all over – not just Indians – come talk to me,” she says. “I met this Dominican girl who said, ‘Everyone tells me that I look like you.’ She gave me a hug, and said, ‘You gave me the strength to stand up and give a presentation in school on where I came from.’”

Our inner teenage girl quakes a little when we hear this story. We understand how this seemingly small thing can change what you dare to dream possible for yourself. And we can’t help but feel relieved for the legions of girls coming up with Priyanka in the mainstream.

GLAMOUR You didn’t wear the iconic red swimsuit, right? PRIYANKA I didn’t have to be in the swimsuits, because I’m the antagonist.

Were you sad not to wear it? Oh my God, I’m so glad I didn’t have to eat one olive and one, like, almond! No.

What did India make of Baywatch, back when it was happening? In India Baywatch became a symbol of the quintessential American dream in the ’90s. Seeing the glory of the sun, beaches – and beautiful people – and you’re like, “Whoa.”

Tell us about playing the villain. I take over the beach. I open up a club. I’m this big shot billionaire chick who plays hardball in a man’s world. And what I love about Victoria is that she’s not baselessly evil. She thinks she’s just driven. She had the business acumen, but her family business went to her brother, because he was a boy. So she has a point to prove.

Your parents treated you and your brother, Siddharth, pretty equally. My parents were really progressive. My dad was a surgeon in the Indian army. My mom is a double MD; she’s an Ent/ob-gyn. Go figure. Way to set your kids up for failure, you know?

You moved to the US to live with your aunt when you were 12. How did that come about? My mom, brother and I came for vacation to be with my mausi – my aunt – and my cousins. I went with my cousin to her school and it was so fascinating to me. What my cousin was studying was really easy. I was like, “OK, I don’t even have to study, and I would get A’s.” So I had this devious plan in my head. I sat with my mom and I’m like, “I want to go to school here. Mausi’s OK with it.” I shuttled between my aunt and uncle. I lived in Iowa, New York, Indianapolis and then Boston.

Was it a shock to leave India? A huge shock the first year, but I’m adaptable. In India my dad was in

“Women have an incredible endurance and strength. Your ability to deal with it is within you.”

the army, and we’d move every two years. He said, “Every new city, you can decide who you want to be. If you were not good at debates in one school, you can be a dancer in the next one.” I used to plan what my personality would be when I got to the next school.

Was all the attention you got from your looks awkward? Oh no, it was great for my ego. Before 15, I had a lot of self-esteem issues. I was very conscious of the colour of my skin. I was very conscious of being, a super gawky, skinny teenager.

You were conscious of your skin colour in the US or in India? India, because there, you’re prettier if you’re fairer.

But you’re not considered fair? No, dude. I’m, like, dusky.

For people who don’t know, what feelings go with the label ‘dusky’? A lot of girls who have a darker skin hear things like, “Oh, poor thing, she’s dark. It’ll be hard for her.” In India they advertise skin-lightening creams: “Your skin’s gonna get lighter in a week.” I used it [when I was very young]. Then when I was an actor, around my early 20s, I did a commercial for a skin-lightening cream. I was playing that girl with insecurities. And when I saw it, I was like, “Oh no. What did I do?” And I started talking about being proud of the way I looked. I actually really like my skin tone.

And being dark in the US? Is there baggage that comes with it? Well, first off, I don’t think a lot of people understand what Indians are. And that’s our fault, a little. We tend to forget our roots a bit. As kids we think, ‘If I’m too Indian, I’ll be put in a box and people will think of me as different. They’ll think I’m weird, because I eat Indian food or my name is difficult to pronounce.’

There’s this idea of the model minority – of being quiet and being accepted. And trying not to make a ripple. Staying in your lane – I heard that so much. I want to make my lane! And yes, it’s an extremely scary time. Maybe I, being on the platform that I am, can say this louder than the kid who has to get on the train and go to school: you don’t need to be afraid of who you are. I don’t want any kid to feel the way I felt in school. I was afraid of my bully. It made me feel like I’m less – in my skin and my culture.

When you moved back to the US for Quantico, you were a huge star, just not here. Was it weird going from being very known somewhere to a new market in which you weren’t as known? It wasn’t weird to me. Just because people who like Indian movies know me doesn’t mean the world has to know me. What affected me was after the show was picked up. I was like, “Oh no, if I don’t do well, people will be like, ‘Indian actors can’t do lead parts.’” I felt that pressure. Do you still feel pressure now? After reaching season two, having done a film and receiving international acknowledgment, I feel like whatever I do will be on me. My choices will be mine; my disappointments will be mine.

Do you feel like you’ve set a new standard for what an Indian actress can achieve there? I don’t know about a standard, but I do hope having done what I did, and them having accepted me the way they did, opens the door for more global talent.

You lost your father a few years ago, and you said that it hadn’t felt real to you yet. Do you still feel that way? Weirdly, yeah. You make friends with grief. My dad was my biggest cheerleader. Any awards show, he would be my date. Every time I won anything, he’d be like, “Yeah!” as if he’d won. I was like, “Dad, just turn it down by 10.”

Speaking of dates, what is your current situation? Are you single? Me to know, and you to find out! I’ve always been someone who’s kept my private life a little private. When there’s a ring on my finger, I’ll talk about it.

Let’s say you could make your perfect partner, using parts of co-stars. Give us your person. Dwayne Johnson’s drive. I find drive in men very attractive. Also, Dwayne’s gentlemanly pull-out-a-chair-fora-girl vibe. Mix that with Zac Efron’s abs, Jake Mclaughlin’s eyes and Ranveer Singh’s rebelliousness.

You have the best hair on the planet. What do you do? Great genes. I believe in oil massages for the scalp, an Indian thing. And weirdly, beer and eggs are incredible conditioners.

Does it smell weird? Like 4am on a Saturday after you’ve come home from a bar and made yourself breakfast.

You put that in, wash it out and then just… not get near anyone for a while? No, you shampoo it off!

Hair envy aside, your presence shows women that they’re not invisible. What advice would you give to those nervous about stepping into a world that doesn’t know what to make of them? It’s a scary place. You will be rejected. I was rejected many times. I cried. I was told that female actors are replaceable in films because they just stand behind a guy. I’m still used to being paid – like most actresses around the world – a lot less than the boys. Being sexy can be a strength, but that’s not the only thing we have to offer. So there are so many things that you’ll be told. It’ll be scary. There will be strife. But women have incredible endurance and strength. Your ability to deal with it is within you.

“I used to plan what my personality would be when I got to the next school.”