Priyanka Chopra's parents were convinced she'd lose at Miss World, made travel plans as 'consolation': And then she won

In 2000, Priyanka Chopra won Miss India title and later was crowned Miss World. The actor's mother Madhu Chopra recalled how hard she worked at that time.

At the Miss World 2000 beauty pageant, Priyanka Chopra, who was then 18, was crowned the winner. She then went ahead and debuted in films and the rest is history. In a new interview with Rodrigo Canelas for his Something Bigger Talk Show podcast, the actor's mother Madhu Chopra opened up about the time when she used to practice for the beauty pageant and praised her grit and hardwork. (Also read: Priyanka Chopra's brother is ‘collateral damage’ of her success, says mom Madhu Chopra: I see him struggling every day)

Priyanka Chopra and Madhu Chopra in a picture the actor shared on social media.

What Madhu said

During the interview, Madhu said, “She [Priyanka] had a lot of grit and determination. I saw her working hard… she never wore stilettos before in her life! That was the first time she wore stilettos and she would practice her walk at night watching Fashion TV. How to walk, so that she does it well next year wherever they were training. She is a strong girl.”

Priyanka Chopra was crowned Miss World 2000 in London.

‘We didn’t think she would win'

"Then she went for Miss World. That was the first time we travelled abroad. Again, we didn't think she would win! Because just the previous year, Miss India won Miss World, so it could not have happened simultaneously! We were sure, so we bought tickets for grand travel all over Europe and America as a consolation prize for her and the three of us. We bought our tickets and were looking forward to it. Her dad was like she would be very disappointed if she did not make it, so this is our gift to her! And then she did it! She won, and we had to cut short our travel plans!"

Earlier this year in September, Priyanka revisited the same spot at London where she was crowned Miss World, to attend the concert of husband Nick Jonas. Priyanka made her acting debut in the Tamil movie Thamizhan (2002), followed by her first Bollywood film, The Hero: Love Story of a Spy (2003).

The actor is currently shooting for the second season of Citadel. She will be next seen in the American action-comedy Heads of State, co-starring Idris Elba and John Cena.