Born in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand to Ashok Chopra and Madhu Akhauri, both physicians by profession, Priyanka Chopra spent her childhood in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. She also has a brother, Siddharth, who is seven years younger to her.

As a young girl Priyanka studied at La Martiniere Girls' School in Lucknow, while her family frequently re-located courtesy her father, who was a physician in the Indian Army. She subsequently re-located to the U.S. where she studied in Newton South High School in Newton, Massachusetts and then in John F. Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She returned to India and completd her schooling at the Army School in Bareilly. She began college at Jai Hind College in Mumbai but discontinued after winning the Miss World pageant.

In 2000 she was crowned Miss, the same year when Lara Dutta and Dia Mirza, also won the Miss Universe and Miss Asia Pacific crowns respectively. Priyanka was the fifth Indian woman to win the title, and the fourth Indian woman to win in a span of seven years.

Chopra was also present as a judge for the Miss World 2009 competition held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Priyanka made her debut in the 2002 Tamil film Thamizhan, starring opposite Vijay. She forayed into Bollywood in 2003 with The Hero: Love Story of a Spy directed by Anil Sharma, in a supporting role as a doctor named Shaheen. Despite being one of the highest grossing films of that year, the film was given a below average status. Later that year she appeared in Raj Kanwar's Andaaz opposite Akshay Kumar. The film turned out to be a box office success, earning her a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award and a nomination for Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award.

Then followed a slew of releases in 2004 like Plan, Kismat and Asambhav that performed poorly at the box office. Her role in later that year Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, earned her acclaim and the film turned out to be the third highest grossing film of that year. Her role opposite Akshay Kumar in Andaaz won critical acclaim and also earned her a Filmfare Best Villain Award. She also received a second nomination for Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for the role. The same year saw her participate in a world tour titled Temptations 2004 with other Bollywood actors, including Shahrukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta and Arjun Rampal.

2005 was a ‘not so good’ year for the actress as several of her films failed to impress at the box office.

In 2006, Priyanka starred in two of the most successful films of the year - Krrish and Don - The Chase Begins Again. Nikhil Advani's ensemble piece, Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute To Love was her first release in 2007. The movie failed to do well at the box office. Chopra's next release, Big Brother also underperformed.

2008 saw the dusky beauty star in Love Story 2050, God Tussi Great Ho, Chamku and Drona, all of which failed to do well. Her fifth release of the year, Madhur Bhandarkar's Fashion was a critical success. Her performance in the film was appreciated and earned her several awards for Best Actress including the Filmfare Best Actress Award.

Priyanka’s final release of the year was Tarun Mansukhani's romantic comedy Dostana. The film was a moderate financial success. In 2009 she starred in Vishal Bharadwaj's Kaminey alongside Shahid Kapoor playing a marathi girl named Sweety, her role was widely appreciated. Her record breaking 12-role portrayal in Ashutosh Gowariker's What's Your Raashee?, failed to grab attention.

In 2010, Chopra appeared in Jugal Hansraj's Pyaar Impossible where she portrayed the role of a college beauty who eventually falls in love with a geek. The film was a commercial and critical failure. Her next release, Siddharth Anand's Anjaana Anjaani alongside Ranbir Kapoor, got a good initial response at the box office, but was not well-received by the critics.

In early 2011, Chopra appeared in Vishal Bhardwaj's black comedy 7 Khoon Maaf, in which she portrayed the role of an Anglo-Indian woman who murders her seven husbands. Her performance in the film garnered mixed reviews by the critics. She has completed the filming of Farhan Akhtar's Don 2 – The Chase Continues alongside Shahrukh Khan. She has commenced the filming of Anurag Basu's Barfee, in which she is playing a mentally challenged girl, as well as Kunal Kohli's next venture opposite Shahid Kapoor in which she plays a yesteryear actress. and Karan Johar's Agneepath remake, the filming of both being held in back-to-back schedules. Recently, she has also confirmed to be reprising her role in Krrish 2 alongside Hrithik Roshan.

Chopra became a television host with the Colors' reality show Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi Level 3. She replaced actor Akshay Kumar who hosted the previous two seasons. The show, which premiered on 6 September 2010, beat the opening ratings of the previous two seasons.

Chopra participated in a concert tour titled Temptations 2004 with other Bollywood actors, including Shahrukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta and Arjun Rampal. She sang, danced, and performed in skits. She is known to be a fairly good singer. For example, she was offered to do the playback singing of "Tinka Tinka" in Karam (2005). She declined, wanting to concentrate on acting, but later sang the song live on the TV program Sa Re Ga Ma Pa.

On 12 December 2009, she was present as a judge for the Miss World 2009 competition held in Johannesburg, South Africa. She was also appointed as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2010.

Chopra continues to do some modelling work, such as appearing for fashion designer Ritu Kumar's collection at HDIL India Couture Week. She has a number of endorsements and is one of the top paid Bollywood actresses in this respect. She has represented brands including Lux, Ponds, Sunsilk, Hero Honda, Nokia, Tag Heuer, J. Hampsted and Virgin Comic.