I was told dark skin isn’t pretty: Priyanka Chopra

Priyanka Chopra Jonas has made a significant name for herself in Hollywood. After being crowned Miss World in 2002 and subsequently, ruling the Indian film industry for years, the icon has only been reaching for the stars.

But it was 2020 that proved to be rather important a year for Chopra - on the professional, as well as personal front. She confessed to getting to know her husband, pop star Nick Jonas, even better, finishing her memoir and signing some brilliant projects. Her latest offering, The White Tiger, recently opened on Netflix to rave reviews too.

But all the stardom and success has come with a hefty price. Growing up in the US, Chopra has had her share of bullying and abuse. Racist comments were a norm. “It’s so difficult to hear you talk about it right now,” the Bluffmaster star told Marie Claire recently when asked about the divisions she has experienced in life. The actor claims to have been bullied as a teenager in Newton, Massachusetts, where she lived with her extended family during her high school days. Most of the ire came from a girl named (pseudonym) Jenny.

Even years later, Chopra is yet to understand what made her the subject of Jenny’s taunts. “In high school, I feel like the kids who were after me didn’t even understand why. I think it’s that they decided that they were more powerful than someone else — me — and when you pick on someone, it’s because you’re insecure,” she shared.

According to Chopra, bullying happens to everyone. “It happens with positions of power and we’ve all seen that abused in multiple ways. It affected me adversely. It affected my confidence; it affected who I wanted to be. I felt exposed when my skin was raw.”

That thick skin, that ability to let the tough times roll off her and move on, is a skill the superstar has been developing since childhood. It’s a lesson her father taught her. “Adapting was something I learned very early on because my parents (both doctors in the Indian army) moved so much. Every two years, we were in a different city,” Chopra recalled. “My father would say to me, ‘You know if your teacher doesn’t like you in this school, the next one you go to, no one will ever know.’ He made it fun and made me fearless about trying new things.”

The Mary Kom star also confessed that she regrets having endorsed fairness creams in the past. “[Skin lightening] was so normal in South Asia; it’s such a large industry that everyone was doing it. In fact, doing it is still a check [mark] when you are a female actor but it’s awful,” she told the publication. “And it was awful for me, for a little girl who used to put talcum-powder cream on my face because I believed that dark skin was not pretty.”

Fortunately, Chopra has come a long way since then. “For that girl who was so scared, I’m proud of the person that I’ve evolved into. I dealt with a lot and I came out thriving,” she said. “I want little girls around the world to think about that. It doesn’t matter where you come from; it doesn’t matter what your circumstances are. Your grit matters, your ambition matters, your perseverance matters.”

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