When I was 13, I would come visit my aunt and uncle in New York. I decided I wanted to live with them after seeing my cousin's school. Honestly, I just wanted to go to a school where I didn't have to wear uniforms, and my mom said okay.
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.
I sang the 'Sunday Night Football' theme song two years in a row - my first part in American culture, although I still don't know anything about American football.
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.
I have never had a plan when it comes to my career: America came to me with an opportunity.
To be a philanthropist, you don't have to be Nelson Mandela. You just have to look around you and ask, 'What little bit can I do? Whose life can I touch?'
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 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.
I had a holding deal with ABC to find me a show, and I was very clear about the kind of show I wanted to do, because Indian people have always been seen as - well, we've been put in a box, about who we should be like.
I'm pretty sure 'Nutty Professor' will happen to me at some point. And when it does, I will go to the gym.
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.
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.
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 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.
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 speak, Hindi, English, and American. I'm trilingual.
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.
The acceptance of 'Quantico' so far has been really great. At the moment, I'm just straddling two continents far away from each other, with very active careers in both!
America has been so welcoming to me.
There is no way I could have predicted the amazing reception and support that 'Quantico' has received this season or even the way that I have been welcomed into the fold here in America.
I'm different. I don't speak perfect American. I do have a lilt of an Indian accent. I thought, 'Maybe the world's not okay with what I bring, being Indian.'
I can't eradicate poverty, but at least for the people around me, I can help make sure no child is denied a dream.
Justin Timberlake - I'd like to learn a little more about his suit and tie.
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.
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.
I hate the term 'Bollywood,' because we're not a 'me too' of Hollywood. The Indian film industry is prolific.
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 became Miss World, I couldn't believe I had won it. I used to sleep with my crown because I was scared someone would steal it. In a minute, the world changed for me.
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.
I live cinema and passionately love music, and my efforts in both these crafts are unfolding.
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 believe destiny and hard work go hand in hand. I was studying to be an engineer when my mom and my brother sent my pictures for the Miss India contest. I didn't even know about it. If that isn't destiny, what is?
Black, brown, white, yellow - why are we always talking about colors? I'm a girl. I believe in a global community.
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 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.
When I was in high school in America, I didn't see anyone who looked like me - hardly ever. I just thought that was normal because you don't know any better. So I used to idolize so many other people, like Sarah Michelle Gellar on 'Buffy.'
To do anything with someone like Bono or someone would be like, you know, a milestone, I think, as a musician.
I wasn't even prepared to be an actress. I was 17 when I came out of high school, and suddenly became Miss World and then I became an actress.
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.
Guess girls are normally blonde, blue-eyed bombshells. It was nice to be a brunette one.
I think art cannot be planned. The audience is too smart to get the dishonesty or 'too much planning' thing. I am not a legend, but I want to be one. I want to be known as an achiever. There is so much more that I can do.
I live with romance in my brain. I'm a true-blue Cancerian like that.
If my film does not do well, it really hurts me. But by God's grace, even if some of my films may not have done well, people have still liked my work in it.
Who doesn't want to be, like, five inches taller whenever they can be? If boys could, they'd be wearing heels.
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.
In New York, a 13-year-old Indian girl came up to me crying, saying to everyone nearby, 'This is where I come from.' It's easy to forget that actors have the ability to instill a sense of self in viewers. That's the greatest compliment.
I don't come from a film background. I haven't learned anything about films or film-making. But I have a thirst to know everything about my profession. I want to learn about cinematography, about editing, about music recordings, about post-production. So when people in the know talk, I willingly listen.
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.
I never had any awkward situations with Shah Rukh.
