Priyanka Chopra Jonas On Changing Her Name in Highschool, Being Bullied, And Living in the US
The award-winning Indian actor opens up about her past on a recent podcast with Dax Shepard
Indian actor and singer Priyanka Chopra Jonas has been making the rounds lately for several reasons, including her adorable mother-daughter visuals on Instagram, her travels with husband and artist Nick Jonas, and now her recent appearance on the popular Podcast series Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard.
On the latest episode released last evening, the award-winning star opens up about various topics like her childhood with her family in India and her big move to the US when she was 13.
During her high school years, Priyanka experienced various highs and lows. For instance, she shares how she was fascinated by American television, “For me, it was 90210, By the Bell, Baywatch, because my mom used to watch a lot of Baywatch and soaps. Bold and the Beautiful was one.”
On the contrary, she also experienced difficult times, like when people would bully her for her identity. “I had so many friends that changed their names from like Varun to Waren just to make it easier. No one could get my name right when I was in high school; they would stare at it for a second. So I was like, call me Pri that time. But I was bullied in 10th grade and started feeling really icky about who I was. And I remember calling my mom and saying that I want to finish high school in India and not here anymore. And she was on the flight the next day. We emptied out my locker, and she took me home,” she says.
She also goes on to discuss how it’s unfortunate that women tend to go against other women and are constantly pitted against each other, which is the main reason why she had a large group of male friends. “Women for so long have been pitted against each other because there can’t be two of them. But now we are finding strength in building communities,” she says.
To hear the full podcast episode click here.