Rekha

Rekha
Rekha in September 2005
MP of Rajya Sabha (Nominated)
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 April 2012
Personal details
Born	Bhanurekha Ganesan (1954-10-10) 10 October 1954 (age 62) Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Political party	Independent
Spouse(s)	Mukesh Agarwal (1990–1991) (his death)
Parents	Gemini Ganesan (father) Pushpavalli (mother)
Relatives	Savitri (step-mother) Shubha (cousin) Vedantam Raghavaiah (uncle)
Awards	Padma Shri (2010)

Bhanurekha Ganesan (born 10 October 1954), better known by her stage name Rekha, is an Indian film actress. Noted for her versatility and acknowledged as one of the finest actresses in Hindi cinema, Rekha started her career in 1966 as a child actress in the Telugu film Rangula Ratnam, though her film debut as a lead happened four years later with Sawan Bhadon. Despite the success of several of her early films, she was often panned for her looks and it was not until the mid-to-late 1970s that she got recognition as an actress.

Rekha has acted in over 180 films in a career spanning over 40 years. Throughout her career, she has often played strong female characters and, apart from mainstream cinema, appeared in arthouse films, known in India as parallel cinema. She has won three Filmfare Awards, two for Best Actress and one for Best Supporting Actress, for her roles in Khubsoorat (1980), Khoon Bhari Maang (1988) and Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996), respectively. Her portrayal of a classical courtesan in Umrao Jaan (1981) won her the National Film Award for Best Actress. Though her career has gone through certain periods of decline, she has reinvented herself numerous times and has been credited for her ability to sustain her status. In 2010, she was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India.

Rekha was born in Chennai (then Madras) to Tamil actor Gemini Ganesan and Telugu actress Pushpavalli. Her father enjoyed considerable success as an actor and Rekha was to follow in his footsteps. She is an alumnus of the popular Church Park Convent in Chennai. She considers Telugu to be her mother tongue. She also speaks Hindi, Tamil and English fluently.