Hema Malini Biography

Hema Malini R. Chakravarty was born on 16 October 1948 into a Tamil Iyengar family in Ammankudi, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. She is the third child born to VSR Chakravarti and Jaya Lakshmi Chakravarti, a film producer. She studied at Andhra Mahila Sabha in Chennai. Hema married film actor Dharmendra in 1980. They both converted to Islam before getting married since Dharmendra was married to Prakash Kaur who refused to divorce him. She became the step-mother of Sunny and Bobby Deol and has two daughters with Dharmendra, Esha and Ahana Deol. Hema Malini is also a professional Bharatanatyam dancer-choreographer and a producer-director.

Among the most successful female stars in the history of Indian cinema, Hema Malini appeared in over 150 films in her career span of 40 years. She has acted in both commercial and arthouse cinema. She has been nominated eleven times for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress, out of which she won once in 1972 (for ‘Seeta Aur Geeta’). In 2000, she was bestowed with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award and also honoured with the Padma Shri Award, the fourth-highest civilian honour, by the Government of India the same year.

In 2012, the Sir Padampat Singhania University awarded Hema Malini an Honorary Doctorate in recognition of her contribution to Indian cinema. Hema Malini lately spends most of her time in charitable and social ventures, while making infrequent appearances in films. She is also a member of India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and was nominated by the party in Rajya Sabha, from 2003 to 2009. She is currently serving as Lok Sabha MP representing Mathura assembly constituency of Uttar Pradesh in the Parliament.