Priyanka Chopra walks red carpet at TIFF Soirée
Chopra is the guest of honour at the annual fundraiser that kicks off TIFF
The red carpet was rolled out Wednesday night at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on the eve of the Toronto International Film Festival for Priyanka Chopra, who is the guest of honour at this year's TIFF Soirée.
The event is an annual fundraiser that kicks off the festival, which is now in its 42nd year.
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The proceeds from the event will go towards Share Her Journey, TIFF's new campaign to increase participation, skills and opportunities for women behind and in front of the camera.
Chopra will hold an onstage conversation to discuss her career and work outside of the entertainment industry on Wednesday evening at the Lightbox.
"It's not easy — when you come into entertainment being a woman. You've got to pull your socks up for a fight," Chopra told CBC Toronto's Ali Chiasson on the red carpet. "No one's going to hand it out to you, whether it's credit, whether it's parts, whether it is the ability to make movies."
Chopra pointed to Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins, the first female director for a studio superhero movie.
"You can understand how hard and few and far between these opportunities are. But it's got to take people like us to stand out there, dig our heels in and say we're not going to stand for it anymore."
Chopra began her acting career in Indian cinema and then made her American TV debut as Alex Parrish on Quantico. She won the a People's Choice Award in 2016 for her role on the show. She most recently starred in the film revival of Baywatch.
Chopra has recently been named a global UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. She is also involved in a number of efforts to protect children's rights and promote the education of girls in India through her charity, The Priyanka Chopra Foundation for Health and Education.
Chopra applauded TIFF for doing its share to boost opportunities for women in film.
"Everyone needs to take a page out of their book and actually do their bit in entertainment."
TIFF runs from Sept. 7-17.