Priyanka Chopra Jonas on the "Expressive" Indian Actress She Always Looked Up To

A beauty icon is someone who defies antiquated beauty standards and sets their own timeless trends instead. Priyanka Chopra Jonas is one such beauty trailblazer. The Indian actress, best-selling author, and entrepreneur channels Old Hollywood with her voluminous bouncy waves on one red carpet, while effortlessly wearing an iridescent blue and purple smoky eye on the next.

As for Chopra Jonas's own beauty icon, she tells InStyle that she has looked to late Indian actress Sridevi Kapoor for inspiration throughout her career. "She had giant, gorgeous eyes and was such an expressive actor," she tells InStyle. "She was very experimental with her fashion and her beauty. She changed her looks and tried new things with all of her movies."

After years of sitting in stylists' chairs while getting glam, Chopra Jonas has entered the beauty chat with her affordable clean hair care line, Anomaly. The star has incorporated her South Asian heritage into the Target-exclusive brand by infusing the formulas with natural and plant-based ingredients like rosemary, eucalyptus, and charcoal. "India definitely uses plants and a lot of natural beauty," she tells us. "It was very crucial to me to incorporate the natural elements that nature has provided us."

Like Chopra Jonas, many stars and industry pros find their personal beauty heroes on center stage. Cythia Erivo tells InStyle that 1940s jazz star Joyce Bryant, whose song "Love for Sale" was banned, is her ultimate inspiration. "Her boldness has inspired me to play with my hair. I enjoy seeing someone with my skin tone try different colors, like silver and blond," Erivo says. "She was unbelievably fashionable, too, wearing form-fitting mermaid dresses. She hung out with Sammy Davis Jr. There's a great photo of them sitting at a table together, having fun and causing mischief."

For celebrity makeup artist Nina Park, late '90s supermodel-turned-actress Devon Aoki was a welcome change from the cookie-cutter faces of the time. "During my childhood, I didn't see many models who looked like me in magazines, but when Devon Aoki walked the Chanel fall show in 1999, I was immediately drawn to her and her beauty," she recalls.

Of course, beauty isn't just skin deep. It's the kindness, generosity and positive energy one exudes. And often we can look as close as our own family to find the best examples of it, which is the case for Jessica Alba. "My grandma Isabel and mom, Cathy, have different overall looks, but they have high cheekbones, incredible smiles, and sparkling eyes in common," actress and The Honest Company founder says. "They light up every room they enter, and their confidence and charisma is where their true beauty lies. They are, of course, traditionally beautiful as well, but it's really about the energy they each radiate." To see who other celebrities have called their beauty role models, pick up the May issue of InStyle.

For more stories like this, pick up the May 2021 issue of InStyle, available on newsstands, on Amazon, and for digital download Apr. 16th.