Priyanka Chopra born in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand to Ashok Chopra and Madhu Akhauri, both doctors,[3] Chopra spent her childhood in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, Newton, Massachusetts and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.[4] Because her father was in the army, her family moved frequently. Her mother comes from a Kerala Kayastha family settled in Jamshedpur, while her father comes from a family of Punjabi origin, settled in Bareilly. She also has a brother, Siddharth, who is seven years younger than her.

Chopra studied at St. Maria Goretti in Bareilly, as a young girl and later went to the United States, where she was a student at Newton North High School in Newton, Massachusetts and North Delta Secondary School in Delta, BC, before returning to India to complete high school at Army School (Bareilly). She began college at Jai Hind College in Mumbai but left after winning the Miss World pageant.

After winning the Miss World title, Chopra became an actress. She made her debut in the 2002 Tamil film Thamizhan alongside Vijay, in which she also sung playback, before moving on to Bollywood. In 2003, her first Bollywood film, The Hero: Love Story of a Spy released and won her good reviews. Despite being given a below average status, the film went on to become one of the highest grossing films of that year.

Nikhil Advani's ensemble piece, Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute To Love was Chopra's first release in 2007. The movie failed to do well at the box office.[15] Chopra's next release, Big Brother also underperformed. Her other releases in 2008 included Love Story 2050, God Tussi Great Ho, Chamku and Drona, all of which were considered flops. However, her most recent releases, Fashion and Dostana, have succeeded at the box office, and her performance in the former garnered her critical acclaim, earning Priyanka Chopra the Star Screen Award for Best Actress.