Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai was Thursday conferred upon a civilian award by the French government for her contribution to the arts on the occasion of her birthday

Francois Richier, ambassador of France to India, conferred the honour of prestigious 'Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters' on her at a hotel here. On receiving the award, Aishwarya said: 'I want to thank the French government for honouring me with the award. It's truly overwhelming. I thank you in all humility.'

She thanked her family for their support and expressed her gratitude towards her colleagues. 'I want to thank every professional who I have worked with and who made it possible for me to have such a glorious career, ' she said. The Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters honour is given to people who have shown exceptionable contribution to arts in France and the rest of the world.

In the past, noted celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan and Nandita Das received the honour. The entire Bachchan family, except Jaya Bachchan, were present at the event. Aishwarya's daughter Aradhaya was also there.

Besides her family, actress Nandita Das, Parmeshwar Godrej and filmmaker Pritish Nandy were also present on the occasion among others.

Aishwarya turned 39 Thursday, so a cake cutting ceremony was also organised for her. After winning the Miss World crown in 1994, Aishwarya debuted as an actress in Mani Ratnam's 1997 Tamil movie 'Iruvar'. Later she did Hindi movies like 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam', ' Guru', 'Jodhaa Akhbar' and 'Devdas'.

Proud of Aishwarya's French honour: Big B


Megastar Amitabh Bachchan says he is proud that his daughter-in-law, actress Aishwarya Rai, has been chosen to receive a civilian award by the French government for her contribution to the arts on her 39th birthday.

Aishwarya received the honour of prestigious 'Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters' by Francois Richier, ambassador of France to India, here Thursday.

"Aishwarya celebrates her birthday and also a recognition by the French government. They confer on her the medal of honor for arts and letters, their second biggest award," the 70-year-old posted on his blog.

"Many years ago the French had decorated me with the Legion d'Honor their highest medal and now the family prides itself with having two of the family gaining recognition from the French," he further posted.

The Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters honour is given to people who have shown exceptionable contribution to arts in France and the rest of the world.

In the past, noted celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan and Nandita Das have received the honour.