Bollywood diva and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai is the ninth most beautiful woman in the world. Hero and 2046 star Zhang Ziyi ranks 15th most beautiful. Zhang enjoys this praise only two months after making the cover of Newsweek, where she was crowned, The face of a new China. Aishwarya Rai and Zhang are honored among 100 other attractive and accomplished personalities.

Aishwarya Rai might not have the girlish petulance of Ziyi Zhang, but in her own right has charmed filmmakers in Hollywood. 

Aishwarya's upcoming Hollywood projects include the role of a battered prostitute in  Chaos  with Meryl Streep,  Roland  Joffe's  Singularity  opposite Brendan Fraser, and possibly in Michael Douglas'  Racing The Monsoon.

Can Aishwarya achieve western stardom?