Sridevi Kapoor (born Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan; 13 August 1963 – 24 February 2018) was an Indian actress and producer, who worked in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada films. Regarded as the "first female superstar" of Indian cinema, she was the recipient of various accolades, including the National Film Award, the Nandi Award, the Tamil Nadu State Film Award, the Kerala State Film Award, three Filmfare Awards and three Filmfare Awards South. In a career that spanned five decades, she was known for her sensitive portrayals of women thrown into challenging situations and appeared in a range of genres, from slapstick comedy to epic drama. Sridevi ranked as the highest-paid woman in the Indian entertainment industry in the 1980s and 1990s and is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actresses in the history of Indian cinema.
Sridevi made her debut as child artiste with the 1967 Tamil film Kandhan Karunai at the age of 4, and started her acting career in lead role as a child with M. A. Thirumugam’s 1969 mythological Tamil film Thunaivan. She continued to act as a child artist in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films and made her Hindi film debut at age 9 with Rani Mera Naam (1972). Her first adult role came at age 13 with the Tamil film Moondru Mudichu (1976) and she established herself as one of the leading actresses of South Indian Cinema, with roles in 16 Vayathinile (1977), Thulavarsham (1976), Angeekaram (1977), Sigappu Rojakkal (1978), Padaharella Vayasu (1978), Vetagadu (1979), Varumayin Niram Sivappu (1980), Meendum Kokila (1981), Premabhishekam (1981), Moondram Pirai (1982), Aakhari Poratam (1988), Jagadeka Veerudu Atiloka Sundari (1990) and Kshana Kshanam (1991).