Miss World 2014 : Lifetime Beauty with a Purpose Award - Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

No winner in the history of Miss World has made a bigger public impact than the winner of Miss World 1994. Twenty years ago in Sun City, South Africa, a career began that took our winner on an incredible journey from being Miss World to becoming a Bollywood legend. Tonight we salute Aishwarya Rai. Twenty years ago one of the most successful Miss Worlds ever was crowned, Aishwarya Rai. To begin her reign as Miss World, Aishwarya came home to a tumultuous welcome. It wasn't just that she was beautiful, Aishwarya was committed to her humanitarian role and was very involved in helping those less fortunate. On one occasion traveling to Colombia to highlight the educational work being done with children of local coal miners. Aishwarya Rai is the embodiment of Miss World and beauty with a purpose. She has established herself as a leading contemporary actress of Indian cinema and has become one of Bollywood's most successful performers. She has received several awards and nominations including two Filmfare Awards and was awarded with the Padma Shri by the Indian government in 2009. Aish has always been fun to work with and lively and always a smile so I'm very very lucky that I worked with her. She is regarded as one of the most popular and influential celebrities in India and is often cited in the media as the most beautiful woman in the world. If somebody asked me who has the most incredible eyes it would be Aishwarya because those big jade eyes were amazing. For Aishwarya, beauty with a purpose is in her heart. Her off-screen roles include duties as a brand ambassador for several charities and campaigns and she is a goodwill ambassador for the joint United Nations program on HIV and AIDS. It was great working with Aishwarya because she never moaned, she was always cheerful, always giggling and ready to roll at any time. One of the many charities that she supports is Smile Train which provides reconstructive surgery to children born with cleft palate. Coinciding with her 20th anniversary since winning Miss World, Aishwarya has pledged to provide further cleft palate surgeries for 100 children. That same commitment to humanity is today as it was 20 years ago. This evening Miss World honors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Ladies and gentlemen, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Aishwarya is tonight accompanied for this special occasion by her whole family. Let's welcome more including her husband, her mom and of course her beautiful daughter. Let's hear it ladies and gentlemen for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. And to present this special award please also put your hands together for chairman and CEO of Miss World, Julia Morley. Aishwarya, it's such a great privilege and pleasure to be with you again. Thank you for all the work you've done for the last 20 years. You were fantastic as Miss World. You came down coal mines with me with big spiders, tarantula spiders. She kept smiling and you've never had a bad temper. You've always smiled and I did appreciate it then. We still appreciate it now and thank you for all the work you do with the children and the 100 children you're going to do this year for the Aren't we lucky? Thank you. Thank you so much. Namaste. That's my love. Good evening and thank you so very much. I stand here overwhelmed by this honor. Julia, I love you and I thank the Miss World organization for such an incredible honor that I received and such a privilege so early in my life to have had the opportunity to hold the title, to wear the crown with pride because for me as a college kid overnight I had the opportunity to represent India and the Indian woman internationally. That was my one time to go out there and experience beauty with a purpose and you know to you all it may sound like a motto but genuinely we get the opportunity as title holders to wear the crown. We get the opportunity to be the face of the purpose and to deliver truly under the able guidance and the quiet channeling of this very positive energy through Julia. So truly I can't thank you enough for having had this experience so early and to be able to continue it all through my life still ongoing and miles to go before I sleep. I'd love to say I stand here having earned the title because of my parents, my mother Vrinda here, my dad Krishnaraj in India watching, my brother Adityan family, my soulmate Abhishek and my angel Aradhya because of who I am she's my world and gives me reason to want to only give so much more to beauty with a purpose. Love you, love you all for all your good wishes and blessings and thank you for giving me incentive to do what I do. I love you. Thank you. Thank you Aishwarya Rao. What a great moment and thank you also to Julia.