Cover Photo: @navyananda/Instagram
Photo: @navyananda/Instagram
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The 25 year-old entrepreneur and gender equality advocate turned heads with her catwalk at the ‘Le Défilé L'Oréal Paris Walk Your Worth’ show at Paris Fashion Week 2023
Navya Naveli Nanda has had a busy but exciting week. In fact, she's led a busy and exciting life, just not the kind you would expect for the granddaughter of Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan and the daughter of Indian journalist, television presenter, and former model Shweta Bachchan-Nanda. Growing up, she disliked the constant media attention that her celebrity family members received. Despite appearing in a rare commercial or two–including a humorous Indian banking ad she famously appeared in alongside her celebrity grandfather—she made it clear that she would not enter the glitzy Bollywood acting career that people expected of her when she graduated from university in 2020.
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A stint interning at a small startup while in university grew her interest in entrepreneurship. During the Covid-19 lockdown, Navya had conversations with three friends about their respective experiences visiting the gynaecologist. Realising the lack of awareness and stigma surrounding women's health in Indian society and the healthcare system, they founded Aara Health, a women-centric health tech company focused on creating and providing scientifically-backed healthcare products and information resources for Indian women.
She is also the founder of Project Naveli, an initiative that fights gender inequality in India by empowering women through education towards greater financial independence, legal awareness and mental and physical health. Followers and netizens especially enjoy the witty banter interspersed with serious topics between Navya, her mother and her grandmother, Jaya Bachchan, on the podcast she hosts, What the Hell Navya.
This week, the young activist made her debut at Paris Fashion Week 2023, walking the runway for the Le Défilé L'Oréal Paris Walk Your Worth show on October 1, where Bollywood icon Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (Navya’s aunt) also wowed audiences with her own catwalk.
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Above Paris, France - Navya Nanda walks the runway during 'Le Défilé L'Oréal Paris - Walk Your Worth" show as part of Paris Fashion Week at the Eiffel Tower on October 01, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Richard Bord/Getty Images for L'Oreal Paris)
Paris, France - Navya Nanda walks the runway during 'Le Défilé L'Oréal Paris - Walk Your Worth" show as part of Paris Fashion Week at the Eiffel Tower on October 01, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Richard Bord/Getty Images for L'Oreal Paris)
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Viral video clips of Navya strutting confidently down the runway set netizens cheering her on, applauding her confidence and her all-red look for the show. Her mother was unsurprisingly the proudest voice amidst the chatter, posting a video on Instagram with the caption “Little Miss L’Oréal”.
Navya has worked closely with L’Oréal India in the past, particularly on the brand’s Stand Up against Street Harassment campaign on road shows conducted across eight Indian cities, teaching women and girls practical ways to deal with public harassment. Last month, in collaboration with a local comics studio, she released her first comic book, Wonder Naari, featuring stories about entrepreneurship, mental health, legal awareness, and education in line with Project Naveli’s values.
Navya is often invited to speak at schools and colleges in India, using her voice of privilege and her platform to call attention to and raise awareness on issues affecting women in India and around the world.
In an interview with Aspire for Her, Navya said: “I used to feel uncomfortable that everyone’s watching me because of my family. But then I realised that if they are going to watch me, I can at least make sure that they are watching for the right reasons.”
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Previously contributing to Esquire Malaysia, Expat Lifestyle and Newsweek, Tania oversees digital stories across Tatler’s key content pillars, also leading the Front & Female platform exploring issues and topics affecting women today.
