Born on 16th Oct1948 to a Tamil-speaking Iyengar family, Hema Malini did her early education in Chennai. Her father was later posted in Delhi, where she attended school at the Delhi Tamil Education Association Senior School (DTEA) on Mandir Marg. After Class 11, she quit commencing her acting career.
She made her debut in Hindi films with Sapno Ka Saudagar(1968). She made her mark next in Dev Anand’s Johnny Mera Naam (1970). After that, there was no stopping Hema. In 1971 her next hit film was Andaz and with the release of Sita Aur Geeta(1972), she was among the top 3 heroines of Bollywood.
She went on to star in a number of hit films -- Sholay (1975), Trishul (1978), Meera (1979), Naseeb (1981), and Satte Pe Satta (1982) to name a few. She emerged as the highest-paid female actor of her time (1976 - 1980).
She made a hit pairing with Dharmendra in the seventies, acted together in 28 films including Sharafat, Tum Haseen Main Jawan, Naya Zamana, Raja Jani, Seeta Aur Geeta, Patthar Aur Payal, Dost (1974), Sholay (1975), Charas, Jugnu, Azaad (1978) and Dillagi (1978).
In 1980, she married Dharmendra, she continued to give hit movies even after her marriage. In the 80s Malini continued to star in big-budget films like Kranti, Naseeb, Satte Pe Satta and Rajput, most of which proved successful at the box-office. She continued to work in heroine-centric roles after becoming a mother, in films like Aandhi Toofan, Durgaa, Ramkali, Sitapur Ki Geeta, Ek Chadar Maili Si, Rihaee, and Jamai Raja.
In the 1990s, she produced and directed the 1992 film Dil Aashna Hai, starring Divya Bharti and Shah Rukh Khan in the leading roles. She also produced and directed her second feature film Mohini (1995), starring her niece Madhoo, both the films flopped. She then focused on dancing and television work.
After taking a break from films for a number of years, Malini made a comeback with Baghban (2003),[29] for which she earned a Filmfare Best Actress Award nomination. She also made guest appearances in the 2004 film Veer-Zaara and the 2007 film Laaga Chunari Mein Daag.
From 2003 to 2009, she served as an MP to the upper house – the Rajya Sabha, having been nominated by the then President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. In February 2004, Malini officially joined the BJP.In March 2010, Malini was made general secretary of the BJP, and in February 2011, she was recommended by Ananth Kumar, the party general secretary. In the 2014 general elections for the Lok Sabha, Malini defeated the Mathura incumbent, Jayant Chaudhary (RLD) She once again won the Lok Sabha election in 2019. She is very active in Politics.
