“My family is my greatest strength,” the actress told PEOPLE on Thursday

Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Nick Jonas. Photo: Unique Nicole/Getty Images

Priyanka Chopra Jonas is full of praise for her husband Nick Jonas.

Speaking at the South Asian Excellence at the Oscars event in Los Angeles on Thursday, the actress, 40, opened up to PEOPLE about how the musician, 30, is her biggest cheerleader.

“My husband is my greatest champion and he’s half Indian, as you will see when the music starts, but he’s just such a supporter of me,” said Priyanka of her husband of four years, who wore a dark-blue suit at the event.

She added, “(He) finished his shoot, came directly all jazzed up and ready to be here by my side. And, you know, he champions me and reminds me when I forget.”

The couple, who tied the knot in 2018, had a rare date night at the star-studded bash away from their 13-month-old daughter Malti Marie.

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Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Nick Jonas. Unique Nicole/Getty Images
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And the Quantico star, who rocked an embellished white and silver skirt and corset with a white feather jacket for the evening, was quick to commend her family for their support as she navigates new motherhood and her career.

“Having [Nick’s] support and my family — my in-laws are back home with the baby — just being able to have my family show up is the only way I could do what I do,” said Priyanka, who hosted the event alongside entrepreneur Anjula Acharia. “My family is my greatest, greatest strength.”

As for how she and her beau balance their parenting duties, the Love Again star added to PEOPLE, “We have to, like everyone does.”

Priyanka also opened up about what it meant to her to host an event showing how much South Asian excellence is now being celebrated in the entertainment industry.

“I have not, in my 12 years of working in Hollywood, ever seen a room full of so many Brown people who are excellent in their fields in entertainment. Never,” she explained.

Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Nick Jonas with daughter Malti. Priyanka Chopra/Instagram
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“And when we did it last year, the first time, it was smaller, it was quaint, it was kind of put together because it was an idea,” Priyanka continued. “And then to see so many people acknowledge it as a real thing, so many of the nominees, knowing that this is their carpet, you guys are here to speak to them, this is their moment. This is us cheering them on really loudly before Sunday, so that they feel super confident going in and knowing that they have a community behind them.”

“That was the aim, and I didn’t have that when I started working. But I have it today. And it feels great,” she said.

Priyanka and Nick welcomed Malti via surrogate on Jan. 15. The baby girl spent her first 100 days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), making it home just in time for Mother’s Day.

“Our baby is truly a badass,” the Jonas Brothers musician wrote on Instagram in May 2022 while reflecting on her homecoming. “Our next chapter begins now.”

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And the Quantico star, who rocked an embellished white and silver skirt and corset with a white feather jacket for the evening, was quick to commend her family for their support as she navigates new motherhood and her career.

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