Living Her Best Life: Priyanka Chopra Is Learning the Art of Saying No
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In our new series Living Their Best Life, Oprah Daily sits down with notable names to find out exactly that—from how they maximize each moment to the daily rituals that keep them grounded. As she looks ahead to conquering her 40s, Priyanka Chopra opens up about the word she’s getting more comfortable saying.
When Priyanka Chopra was in her 20s, living her best life meant skydiving, bungee jumping, whitewater rafting, and embarking on a bunch of other thrill-seeking adventures she can’t imagine doing today. “The beauty of life is you find that every decade brings a different grace to you, a different cadence to who you become,” Chopra, who recently celebrated her 40th birthday, tells Oprah Daily. “You find a different form of who you need to be, and neither is better or worse.”
With over two decades of show business already behind her, Chopra knows a thing or two about dreaming up the life she wants. She’s expanding her business portfolio through building her beauty empire with Anomaly, an environmentally conscious haircare line, as well as opening Manhattan’s Sona restaurant, which celebrates her Indian heritage, and investing in Perfect Moment, a designer sportswear brand, with husband Nick Jonas.
Most recently, though, she partnered with Gloria Vanderbilt Jeans for its “I Have Needs. Fit Them” campaign, which launched on August 1 and is meant to inspire women to speak up for what they want. In more ways than one, a campaign with the legendary brand—which launched the first jeans specifically designed to fit a woman’s body—aligns perfectly with the women empowerment causes Chopra is known for.
“I feel so comfortable and really sexy in my GV jeans, so it’s exciting to be able to reintroduce people to the brand and remind them how incredible it is,” she says, noting the Amanda pull-on jeans, which can be found at Kohl’s, Macy’s, Belk, JCPenney, and Amazon, as her favorite pick from the fall 2022 collection.
As hard as the Miss World pageant winner works these days, Chopra plays even harder. Her family-and friend-filled 40th-birthday bash is a perfect example of that. “I used to need everything to be at the energy level of a 100, and now I’m at a 20 or 25,” Chopra shares. “I’m learning to navigate a more balanced work-life situation, and this new decade of my life is going to be about that.”
Ahead, Chopra gives us the scoop on the book she’s loving at the moment, the astrological reason behind her “moody” playlist, and what she’s no longer willing to compromise.
Her Secret to a Balanced Life
Being answerable to my work 24-7 is something I’m no longer willing to do. Don’t get me wrong; I’m a very ambitious woman. If I’ve got to do something, I make it a priority. I’ve always been the “I’ll figure it out. It’s fine. We’ll do it” person, even if that meant working through weekends, birthdays, holidays, and anniversaries. But then, I’m the one who ends up feeling stressed. So I’m learning to be realistic and to just say no once in a while. By saying the word no, we think the world’s going to crash or something. We’ve given it too much power. When you say no and the other person’s like, Okay, you realize it’s not as bad as you thought it would be.
Her Playlist Must-Haves
I am really moody, and I think it’s a Cancerian thing, but I will start my day with Top 40 radio, and I’ll end my day with vintage French jazz. There’s a lot that goes on in the middle, too. [Laughs]
Her Reading List
I just started reading [Russian-Armenian émigré] Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry’s novel called The Orchard, which tells a coming-of-age story between these young adults in 1980s USSR. Usually, I am behind on my reading for work, so I feel guilty whenever I start a new book since I'm actually supposed to be reading a script, which I haven't looked at because I'm procrastinating, but I just need a good book right now.
Her Latest Obsession
If I’m not filming and there’s nobody around me, then I can binge-watch a show if I’m into it. I did that with Love on the Spectrum. I watched seasons one and two, then I went on to the Australian and U.K. versions. I love that show, so that’s one I really binge. Two days ago, I watched The Gray Man, and I cannot even with that movie. I enjoyed it so much. Every scene was bigger and better than the last, and the cast was amazing. Highly recommend it.
Her Happy Place
I love to travel, but home is always my happy place. By home, I don’t mean a physical place. Being with family and surrounded by people I can feel free with—I can create that anywhere.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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