Priyanka Chopra on Creating Her Own Success: 'If I'm Told No, I Want to Do it Even More'
Priyanka Chopra on Creating Her Own Success: 'If I'm Told No, I Want to Do it Even More'
Angel SaundersThu, June 25, 2026 at 4:09 PM UTC
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Priyanka Chopra Jonas 'Building Legacy: Moving Culture through Originality and Borderless Expression'Credit: Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty -
Priyanka Chopra Jonas spoke exclusively to PEOPLE's Leah Wyar at the Building Legacy: Moving Culture through Originality and Borderless Expression event at Cannes Lions
The actress spoke about the global success of many of her projects, and how many films and TV shows now transcend their country of origin
She also talked about trying to strike a balance between focusing on your strengths and pursuing growth — and how making mistakes can be a good thing
Priyanka Chopra Jonas is a global superstar with more that two decades of major movie and TV roles under her belt. But as she's found, the key to her success isn't perfection — it's being human.
On Wednesday, June 24, the actress and entrepreneur, 43, spoke to PEOPLE President Leah Wyar at a Cannes Lions panel titled Building Legacy: Moving Culture through Originality and Borderless Expression. And she said that for her, looking to constantly evolve, while still delivering to audiences what they love to see, involves a lot of listening, experimenting and trial and error.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas, 'Building Legacy: Moving Culture through Originality and Borderless Expression' at Cannes Lions 2026Credit: Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty
"I always want to be authentic to myself in everything I do, but keeping people's attention is a really tough job, and you can only do it through evolution," Chopra said. "I can make mistakes, I'm human, I don't get everything right. [When I started my career], I was constantly striving for perfection. But over time, I realized that emotional connection [to fans] came from saying, 'I made a mistake' ... and I think that's okay. That emotional connection with your audience comes from being able to accept that I'm doing my best."
One other key to her success? "I'm very ambitious, and if I'm said no to, I want to do it even more."
Most recently, Chopra Jonas was seen starring in and producing Prime Video's The Bluff, playing Ercell "Bloody Mary" Bodden, a retired Caribbean pirate who must forgo her peaceful island life to protect her loved ones from invading buccaneers, and spoke about the movie's global success.
"I was really shocked at how many countries it was number one in because, first of all, it was a female story, second of all, about a female pirate, that most people didn't know existed," Chopra Jonas told the audience, referring to the true stories on which the film was based.
She also said that looking to tell stories that interested her has been another key to her success — essentially creating her own platforms for projects she wants to see made or star in, that might not otherwise have been made. "I've heard this from so many female colleagues: When you want to move along and there's a glass ceiling that's been set for most women in entertainment, you just have to do it yourself." (Next up: the survival film Reset with Orlando Bloom.)
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"When I came into the film industry, I didn't know anyone ... when new people come into film and TV, that is my sweet spot. I want to, as a production house, to be the shoulders for entertainers and creators to jump off, because I created a platform and I know how hard it is," she said. "When I came to America, I wanted more work which had me as a lead, which had me doing parts that I don't think a lot of studios imagined an Indian actor doing. So I started producing my own movies."
Priyanka Chopra Jonas stars as 'Ercell' in The BluffCredit: Amazon MGM Studios
Having a global outlook is key to the success of future film projects, she said, noting that streaming services mean that a non-Hollywood project can find all new audiences at home who may not have had access before. She also cited a project she's currently working on, Varanasi, as an example of one that will be filmed in Telegu, a Southern Indian language, but dubbed into nearly 200 languages.
"My mom loves Korean dramas. She would never have had access to those if it wasn't for both of those factors," Chopra Jonas said. "Or she'll watch an Iranian movie. Or look at Squid Game when it became the phenomenon that it did, or Parasite when it won best picture."
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With evolution always on her mind, Chopra Jonas says staying true to herself also means also seeking out the best projects and partnerships across brands and entertainment.
"To be the best partner, I had to have an authentic partnership, I had to come from something that was real," she says. "I like to associate with the best. I built my career on my own, I've worked for 26 years to keep evolving, to keep that attention. You seek aligning with the best, and it's okay to give yourself permission to seek better every time."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
