Priyanka Chopra, 36, Actor

With a mix of grit and gumption, she climbed all the way to the top of the American celebrity culture, wowing at Met Galas, charming late-night TV hosts by participating in quintessentially American sports (such as eating wings!) and becoming one-half of one of New York’s most photographed couple. Oh yes, and she also headlined a US network show, playing an FBI agent in Quantico (2015). The former Miss World who started her career in Bollywood at 17 proved that global success was the best revenge on her former friends who had shut her out of the Mumbai film industry over rumours of a relationship with a powerful co-star. With her feet firmly planted in New York’s A-list stratosphere, she gets to choose her subjects, developing entertainment with and about powerful Indian-American role models, such as actress Mindy Kaling and lawyer Vanita Gupta. Consider her India’s unofficial cultural ambassador who knows a thing or two about slaying it on the red carpet. Oh, all that and Unicef’s Global Goodwill Ambassador too.

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