Sridevi.

Sridevi was born Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan on August 13, 1963, in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu. Her mother Rajeswari Yanger was from Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, and her father Ayyapan Yanger was from Sivakasi. She grew up speaking both Tamil and Telugu. At age four, she made her film debut as a child artist in the 1967 Tamil film Kandhan Karunai. She also appeared as a child in the Telugu film Bangarakka 1977 and the Malayalam film Kumara Sambhavan 1969. Her father died in 1991 during the shooting of Lamhe, and her mother passed away in 1997. Sridevi supported her family financially from a young age, becoming the sole income earner.

Sridevi’s first release as a lead actress was the 1977 Tamil film Gayathri, followed by 16 Vayathinile 1977, which was remade in Telugu as Padaharella Vayasu 1978. She starred alongside Kamal Haasan in Tamil films from 1977 to 1983, delivering hits like Sigappu Rojakkal and Moondram Pirai 1982, for which she won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress. Her adult Hindi debut came in 1979, but her breakthrough was the 1983 Hindi film Himmatwala opposite Jeetendra, which established her in Bollywood. She dominated the Hindi film industry from the mid-1980s, starring in hits like Nagina 1986, for which she was initially not the first choice, and Chandni 1989, for which she dubbed her own dialogues for the first time. Her performance in the 1989 film Chaalbaaz, shot while she had a fever of 103 degrees, won her a Filmfare Award for Best Actress. She also starred in the Telugu film Kshana Kshanam 1992, winning the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu and the Nandi Award for Best Actress. After a hiatus, she made a comeback with English Vinglish in 2012, playing a middle-aged woman learning English.

Sridevi married producer Boney Kapoor on June 2, 1996. The couple had two daughters: Janhvi Kapoor born 1997 and Khushi Kapoor born November 5, 2000. Boney Kapoor had pursued her during the filming of Mr India 1987, paying her a fee of Rs 11 lakhs instead of the quoted Rs 10 lakhs. Earlier, Sridevi had a secret marriage with actor Mithun Chakraborty from 1985 to 1988, which she ended after his existing marriage was revealed. She was also the sister-in-law of actor Anil Kapoor. In her personal time, she faced the loss of her father in 1991 and mother in 1997. Sridevi financially supported her mother, stepfather, sister, and stepbrother throughout her career.

Sridevi earned the title of Indian cinema’s first female superstar by dominating the box office for over a decade. In 2013, she was voted ‘India’s greatest actress in the last 100 years’ by CNN-IBN. The same year, the Government of India awarded her the Padma Shri, its fourth-highest civilian honor. Her funeral in 2018 drew an estimated crowd of over 300,000, making it the fourth-largest gathering for a non-political film personality in India. She inspired a generation of actors, including Hrithik Roshan, who had his first speaking role opposite her in Bhagwan Dada 1986. Sridevi’s performances in films like Chandni, Nagina, and English Vinglish remain benchmarks in Indian cinema. Her legacy continues through her daughters, both of whom have entered the film industry.