- Aishwarya is the daughter of Krishnaraj Rai and Vrinda Rai. She is the sister of Aditya Rai.
- Aishwarya is a Bunt, like fellow actors Shilpa Shetty and Suniel Shetty. The Bunts are a South Indian community who mainly speak Tulu, which is Aishwarya's mother tongue.
- Aishwarya is fluent in English, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, and Urdu.
- Aishwarya learnt classical dance and music for five years.
- Aishwarya used to accompany her mom to marketplace and haggle over the prices with vegetable vendors.
- Aishwarya's first ever commercial was for Camlin pencils while she was in 9th grade.
- Aishwarya had secured 90 percent in HSC at Ruparel College in Mumbai.
- The first movie star she ever met was Rekha. Aishwarya was still in high school at the time and was a model. While at a grocery store with her mother, Aishwarya was tapped on the shoulder by none other than Rekha herself. Rekha recognized Aishwarya from her modeling ads. She complimented the young Aishwarya on her good looks and wished her all the best.
- Aishwarya's favourite subject in college was Zoology and she actually wanted to do medicine.
- Aishwarya says family and a very close group of friends are what make her happiest.
- Aishwarya says her dream man is handsome but not necessarily tall and dark.
- Aishwarya says her weakness is her willingness to take people at face value.
- Aishwarya says her strength is self-assurance. It's ever present even in the worst situations.
- Aishwarya says she's possessive about the people she cares for.
- Aishwarya is a former Gladrags model before her Miss India days.
- Not only did Aishwarya win Miss World 1994, she also won Miss Photogenic & Miss Popular at the pageant.
- After winning the title of Miss World in 1994, the host of the event, Richard Steinmetz, actually asked Aishwarya out. But being a professional, she refused right away.
- Aishwarya is 5 foot 7 inches tall and weighs 122 pounds.
- Before Aishwarya was famous, she auditioned to do voice dubbing for a television serial and was rejected.
- Aishwarya has a puppy named Sunshine, which was given to her as a gift by friend Viveik Oberoi.
- Aishwarya has won over 50 awards since 1994.
- When the IFFA awards took place in Amsterdam, Aishwarya had a breed of tulip named after her as well.
- Aishwarya is said to be the second highest-paid actress in India after Rani Mukerji.
- Aishwarya has been voted the most beautiful woman in the world in an online poll by Hello Magazine.
- Aishwarya has also been voted the most sexiest woman in Asia.
- Aishwarya is often referred to as the queen of Bollywood
- Aishwarya is the first actress and performer from India to be featured on the cover of Time magazine.
- Aishwarya has made over 50 music videos in only seven years.
- In the restaurant scene in "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" with Ajay Devgan, Aishwarya ate 12 real chillies.
- Aishwarya's Pepsi ad with Aamir Khan was shot in one night during the infamous Bombay riots.
- Aishwarya is very much into Vaastu and Feng-Shui. A water body in one corner, a wind-chime in another, her new house has all the elements in mind.
- Aishwarya doesn't believe in love at first sight.
- Aishwarya used to date ace Bollywood actor Salman Khan.
- Aishwarya was offered Rani Mukherji's role in "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai".
- Aishwarya is the ambassador for Longines watches since 1999.
- In April 2003, Aishwarya suffered an accident on the sets of "Khakee" when a car driven by a stuntman got out of control, hit her, took her down a crevice, and slammed her into a cactus plant. She broke a bone in one foot and suffered severe cuts, and she was rushed to a hospital. The incident rekindled the discussion about poor safety standards on Bollywood film sets.
- Aishwarya is the first Indian actress to be on the jury of the Cannes International Film Festival.
- Despite the fact that Aishwarya is adorned with jewellery in her music videos and movies, she is apparently not too fond of it.
- Aishwarya created frenzy at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival when she arrived at the premiere of her film "Devdas" in a coach. She was wearing a beautiful yellow-orange-embroidered sari.
- Aishwarya was originally cast in the role of Jwala in the film "Mangal Pandey: The Rising", but dropped out before filming started due to contract problems. The role was later given to Amisha Patel.
- Aishwarya loves collecting watches.
- Aishwarya was the Coca Cola Girl for the Middle East and south Asia.
- Aishwarya has achieved iconic status all over South Asia.
- Aishwarya is featured in the 2004 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records.
- In a poll conducted by Hello magazine, Aishwarya was voted the number-one attractive woman of 2003, beating actresses such as Nicole Kidman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Gwyneth Paltrow.
- In April 2003, L'Oréal signed Aishwarya as its new international brand ambassador.
- Aishwarya is the first Bollywood star to appear in Rolling Stone magazine.
- Aishwarya gained 20 pounds for Bride & Prejudice (2004) because she didn't want her character to look like a supermodel and also felt that it would add a sense of realism to the character.
- Aishwarya turned down the lead in "Munnabhai M.B.B.S.". The role was given to Gracy Singh.
- Aishwarya turned down the role of Mastani in the film "Bajirao Mastani ".
- Aishwarya receives at least two movie offers every day.
- Aishwarya was originally intended for the role of Priya in the film "Chalte Chalte ".
- Aamir Khan and Aishwarya Rai are the only stars to advertise for both Coca Cola and Pepsi.
- Shah Rukh Khan recommended Aishwarya to play Kaurwaki in the film "Asoka". But the director wanted to cast someone who hadn't already been paired with Shah Rukh Khan as a leading lady.
- Aishwarya sued the magazine Star and Style for a sum of Rs 20 million (2 crore) for printing an article claiming that actress Raveena Tandon had caught her and Akshaye Kumar in a compromising position at the poolside of a five-star hotel.
- During the filming of the song 'Dola Re Dola' from the movie "Devdas", Aishwarya's ears were bleeding because to the heavy earrings she had to wear, but she continued to perform anyway.
- Aishwarya is good friends with actress Preity Zinta.
- Aishwarya has gained a cult following in Pakistan.
- Aishwarya was listed in Time magazine as one of 100 most influential people in the world.
- Aishwarya ran the Olympic-torch relay in June 2004.
- Aishwarya turned down a role in "The Myth" due to her touring schedule. The role was eventually given to Mallika Sherawat.
- Aishwarya refused to work with Salman Khan after their break-up, in spite of several offers.
- Aishwarya over 17,000 Web sites dedicated to her.
- In 2004, Aishwarya became the first Bollywood and Indian actress to have her own statue at London's Madame Tussauds museum.
- On January 2nd, 2005, Aishwarya became the first Indian actress to be interviewed on "60 Minutes".
- Aishwarya was voted #9 in Harpers and Queen magazine's list of the 100 most beautiful women of today.
- A tulip produced in 2005 was named for Aishwarya.
- Aishwarya was a member of the jury at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival.
- When Oprah Winfrey saw Aishwarya's interview on "60 Minutes", she was so fascinated by her that she got a hold of Ash and invited her to be a guest on her show. On April 25, 2005, Aishwarya became the first Indian and South Asian actress to be featured on "The Oprah Winfrey Show".
- Aishwarya turned down the role of Briseis in the film "Troy".
- Director Andy Tennant offered Aishwarya a part in "Hitch", but she turned it down because she was so busy with other films.
- Aishwarya turned down the role of Anna in "Barsaat".
- In the summer of 2005, Mattel released limited edition Barbie dolls inspired by Aishwarya and her costumes. They were released only in Britain and sold out within minutes. These dolls are now considered rare collectibles among fans.