Vogue - The Biggest Star You've Never Heard of - Priyanka Chopra

"LIKE many women from India and the Southeast Asia region, she embodies sensuality and elegance," says designer Prabal Gurung about Indian superstarPriyanka Chopra. "She moves beautifully, she speaks eloquently and she is respectful - which is all embodied in how she wears clothes."

Chopra is dressed in a long-sleeved, black leather runway look by Gurung for this interview, which took place at an intimate event in New York, held in her honour by Guess. "It's my rock chick vibe," she smiles. "I was feeling a little rebellious today, a little dangerous."

She is the first spokesmodel of Indian descent for the American jeans brand, whose campaigns have historically favoured blonde bombshells such as Claudia Schiffer and Anna Nicole Smith.

"I know I am being judged from when I walk in the room, and I am not being judged as me the person, I am being judged for where I come from also," she told us. "So the responsibility of making sure I am good enough to be the first Indian to be the global face of Guess is such a huge achievement."

She describes herself as a jeans and T-shirt girl, but favours designers such as Dolce & Gabbana, Phillip Lim, and Alexander McQueen for red-carpet events. "I would absolutely love to meet and work with Karl Lagerfeld," she enthuses, adding that doing more fashion work internationally is also one of her aspirations.

Chopra walks on water in her home country, best evidenced by her millions of Twitter followers, the dozens of films under her belt, and the almost 28 million hits that her single, Exotic, with Pitbull, has seen on YouTube - the last marking her break into the international scene.

"I feel like I am in high school again," she says shyly, "and thinking, 'Oh my God, will the popular kids like me?'"

Famous as she is (there were fans camped outside the event venue in the cold for hours just to get a glimpse of her), Chopra remains incredibly down to earth. She took time to speak personally to all her guests, pose for photographs with fans, and even face-time with a guest's mother who was a die-hard fan.

"In spite of her meteoric rise to superstardom and incredible talent, she still remains humble," adds Gurung. "Notwithstanding her beauty, elegance and talent, her humility remains the most endearing part of her."