Happy Birthday Aishwarya Rai Bachchan: Rare pictures, lesser known facts about former Miss World

Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan turns 42 on 1 November.

The Bachchan Bahu has always mesmerised people with her elegance, beautiful looks and of course, acting skills.

She has not only come out as one of the ace actresses and models, but also as an ideal mother, wife and daughter-in-law.

She is married to Abhishek Bachchan with whom she has an adorable daughter Aaradhya. The former Miss World is the daughter-in-law of megastar Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan.

The actress went on a hiatus after the birth of her daughter, and she made a comeback to the industry after five long years with the recently released "Jazbaa." 

Here are few lesser known facts about the birthday girl.

• Aishwarya is a linguist as she speaks in six languages. She knows Tulu and Tamil perfectly. She also knows Marathi, which she learnt in school. The beauty queen also understands Bengali as she has portrayed Bengali characters.

• Before she became Miss World, the diva tried to get a job in a TV serial dubbing section. But it didn't go well.

• She is the first Indian to participate in the famous "Oprah Winfrey show" in America.

• She is also the first Bollywood actress to get a wax statue at Madam Tussauds, London

• Aishwarya's first commercial was for Camlin pencils when she was in standard IX.

• Initially, Aishwarya wanted to pursue medicine. She was passionate about zoology but later got into Raheja College for a degree in Architecture. The diva was a brilliant student from the beginning, but had to dropout to pursue a career in modelling after winning the Miss World pageant.

Check out the above slideshow of Aishwarya's rare pictures.