Photo: Ministry of Communications / GODL-India (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Meena Kumari moves me more than almost any classic star. Crowned the Tragedy Queen, she carried sorrow on screen with a depth few have matched, across more than ninety films and four Filmfare Best Actress wins. What deepens my admiration is that she was also a poet, a singer, and a costume designer, an artist who poured herself into every dimension of cinema. She died at just thirty-eight, and knowing her own life echoed the heartbreak she portrayed makes her performances ache all the more. More than fifty years on, India still remembers her, and that endurance is the truest mark of greatness.
Overview
Meena Kumari (born Mahjabeen Bano; 1 August 1933 – 31 March 1972) was an Indian actress and poet, who worked in Hindi films. Known as "The Tragedy Queen", she is regarded among the finest and greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema. In a career spanning 33 years, from child actress to adult, Kumari starred in over 90 films. Kumari won four Filmfare Awards in the Best Actress category.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Meena Kumari
- Name (Japanese)
- ミーナ・クマリ
- Reading
- みーな・くまり
- Born
- August 1, 1933 – March 31, 1972
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Leo / Rooster
- Origin
- Dadar, Bombay State, India
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- actor / poet / costume designer / singer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 1954 Filmfare Award for Best Actress
- 1958 Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Actor — see all → · Poet — see all → · More people from India →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.