Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra wins her first People's Choice Award for her performance as Alex Parrish in Quantico Twitter

Indian star Priyanka Chopra has become the first South Asian actress to win a People's Choice Award. Chopra won the award for "favourite actress in a new TV series" for her role as an FBI agent in the US thriller Quantico.

The 33-year-old, who is one of Bollywood's leading stars, beat competition from Emma Roberts, Jamie Lee Curtis, Lea Michele and Marcia Gay Harden for the coveted prize.

Tweeting an image of herself with the award, she thanked her fans for voting for her and said she was "fortunate". Speaking on the red carpet she described her first experience of being at The People's Choice awards, as: "the weirdest thing. But you know what's crazy is that people come up to me knowing that I probably feel weird being here because I don't know anyone and they come and introduce themselves and then they make me meet other people. So it's been so nice. Everyone's been so wonderful to me."

Looking stunning in a sparkling Vera Wang collection gown, Chopra also presented the award for favourite action movie to The Fast and the Furious 7, along with actor John Stamos.

The Indian beauty, who spent her formative teenage years in the US, made her Hollywood debut in Quantico, after signing a three-year deal with ABC.

In an interview with the IBTimes UK, Chopra revealed how the lead role in the hit series happened. "I had a deal with ABC. The producer approached me about the idea. She came to India and hung out with me on set while I was shooting Gunday and she pitched the idea to me of a holding deal with ABC," she explained.

"I was a bit iffy about the idea of TV because it is such a commitment and I am very particular about the parts that I do. Usually and I don't want to say always, but usually with American entertainment you're used to seeing an actor put in a box of a stereotype which I really didn't want to do. It used to really annoy me when I was growing up in the US. Indian talent is so much more than the box it was often put in.

"I said that I would only do it if it wasn't going to be something like that and she said I come to you solely and wholly as an actor and I want to find the right part for you as an actor and to their credit they did. They came to me with 26 scripts before pilot season this year. Quantico was my favourite and it worked for the makers, it worked for me and we shot the pilot. It got picked up and it just kind of happened."

Describing the character of Alex Parrish she told IBT: "I just think it's been great to me to get to know Alex Parrish. When I've worked on features I just got to know where it starts where it ends what happens imbetween I don't have to discover or create her as I go along. But with Alex I had no idea what's coming. It's almost like she's alive and I'm discovering what's happening as I go along with her."

She also praised her co-stars in the series for their support as she turned her hand to TV for the first time. "I think the great part about working in the show is the incredible actors that have worked with who have done so much and come together and created this ensemble. We have so many incredible actors that made this show what it is. It helps me so much because they have so much experience and I have zero experience of TV. So I watch them and I am aghast that I get to work with them. For me that's the best part to work with a bunch of supremely talented people."

Quantico episode 4
Priyanka Chopra is the breakthrough star of ABC's Quantico ABC

The former Miss World is a household name across the Indian diaspora and is now conquering the west. As well as making the foray in to TV, she also launched a career as an international pop star, recording with the likes of Will.i.am and Pitbull. And while Chopra has succeeded in making her presence felt in the mainstream arena, she hasn't forgotten her Indian roots. Maintaining her career in Bollywood, she recently also won accolades for her performance in the romantic period epic Bajirao Mastani.

Following her win, the pioneering actress was flooded with messages of praise and support from her fans and her Bollywood contemporaries on social media. British singer Jay Sean tweeted: "My homegirl @priyankachopra keeps breaking boundaries and pushing our culture fwd in the mainstream.. So happy for ur People's Choice WIN!"

Elizabeth director Shekhar Kapur sent a message of congratulations writing : "congratulations! @priyankachopra wins best debut actress in TV at #PeoplesChoiceAwards for @QuanticoTV #Quantico Brilliant Achievement."

Chopra's win also resulted in the hashtag #PeoplesChoiceAwards, becoming one of the top Twitter trends in India, where the awards are not usually closely followed.

As the global star looks set to sweep the boards for her work both in East and West, it's clear that Priyanka Chopra is a name you'll be hearing a lot more of in 2016.

Quantico airs in the UK on Alibi TV in January 2016.

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