Priyanka Chopra: 'The girl next door is no longer blonde-haired and blue-eyed'

Priyanka Chopra is a busy woman. When she’s not filming her ABC show Quantico or engaging with her fans on social media, she’s giving us frank and feminist commentary on the entertainment industry from the unique perspective of someone who has already conquered an international market.

In an interview with Flare magazine, the Indian actress discussed a wide variety of topics—from how she ended up becoming a pageant queen (her mom sent in a headshot without her knowledge) to landing a gig as the villain in the upcoming Baywatch movie, a part initially written for a man. Chopra has strong feelings about defying conventional expectations with the characters she plays:

Storytelling cannot be based on what someone looks like… Everyone has stories: you have a story; I have a story. They just need to be written. And casting needs to happen based on the best person for the job, not the Indian girl or the black girl. The girl next door is no longer blonde-haired and blue-eyed, nor is she brown-haired and brown-eyed. She’s not one person. And our entertainment needs to be a representation of that.

Chopra also praised a recent essay Jennifer Aniston penned for The Huffington Post, which lambasted the objectification of women and the bogus female celebrity narrative promoted tabloid industry.

I really admire her and the fact that she called it out… We’ve been told for eons that a woman should be a certain way, dress a certain way, behave a certain way. That’s what the fight of feminism is for: we’re asking for the opportunity to make our own choices without being judged—a freedom that men have enjoyed for centuries.

It seems that in just about every interview she does, Chopra takes the opportunity to break stereotypes and double down on her commitment to feminism (a fantastic departure from her days shying away from the F-word). May she continue her reign, making big moves in Hollywood and taking roles from men  .