Lesser Known Facts About the Legendary Actress Sridevi India is in deep mourning after the sudden demise of the veteran actress, who did not just give Indian cinema her soul as an artist but also empowered thousands of women

India woke up to the distraught news of the untimely death of one of Bollywood's most versatile actress Sridevi, who at 54, died of cardiac arrest on Saturday night in Dubai. The actress was attending her nephew's wedding in Dubai with her husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi when she had a massive cardiac arrest.

India is in deep mourning after the sudden demise of the veteran actress, who did not just give Indian cinema her soul as an artist but also empowered thousands of women by being the first female superstar of Bollywood. Condolences from across the country are pouring in as people are finding it terribly difficult to believe that the legendary actress of Bollywood is no more with us.

The 'Hawa Hawai' actress had an illustrious career with a rich legacy of films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi cinema. She made a stellar comeback after a long break from her acting career with her movie English Vinglish in 2012 and gave another hit in 2017 with the movie 'Mom'. As per her colleagues and directors in Bollywood, Sridevi and her outstanding acting skills were a precious gift to Indian cinema for which she will be remembered forever.

Entrepreneur India pays a tribute to the legendary actress by listing some lesser known facts about her and her career spanning four decades in Indian cinema.

Began Her Acting Career at 4

Born in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu on August 13, 1963, Sridevi began her acting career at the age of four in the film Thunaivan. The actress was named Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan upon her birth, but later she changed her name to Sridevi. At 9, she won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist in 1971 for the Malayalam film Poompatta. The actress also co-starred with late actress and politician Jayalalithaa in three films at her early age.

In 1975, she made her Bollywood debut with her first Hindi film, Julie where she played the character of the sister of the lead actress. Sridevi made her foray into Bollywood as a lead actor in 1979 with the movie Solva Saavan.

India's First Female Superstar

The 'Roop Ki Rani' actress played the lead role opposite Indian cinema's megastars like Rajnikanth, Kamal Haasan, Jeetendra and many more. In the Tamil film industry, Sridevi did the most number of films with Kamal Haasan. Sridevi worked with Jeetendra is 16 films and most of them were big hits to Indian cinema.

Sridevi was only 13 years old when she played the lead role opposite Rajnikanth and Kamal Haasan in Moondru Mudichu.

Hollywood Film Offer from Steven Spielberg

Hollywood's noted Director and screenwriter, Steven Spielberg offered the lead role to Sridevi for his iconic film Jurassic Park in 1993. But the actress declined the offer because she felt that the character did not offer enough screen space.

The five-times Filmfare winner was also in news in 2017 for her Hollywood film offer titled Cowboys and Indians helmed by actor Robert Redford's daughter Amy Redford.

Highest Paid Actress of Her Time

Starting her career at an early age, Sridevi took the centre stage in Bollywood with her uninterrupted remarkable performances in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. She went on to become the most sought-after actress of regional and Indian cinema both in a very less span of time. She was, in fact, the highest paid actress of her time.

Most Versatile Actress of Her Time

Acting was not her only forte; Sridevi also did playback singing for films such as Sadma, Chandni, Garjana and Kshana Kshanam. Her fans are still crazy about her dance performances in films. Sridevi gave an outstanding performance in Na Jane Kaha se Aayi Hai song even when she was down with high fever and had 103 degree temperature at the time of shooting.

Honoured by Padma Shri

In 2013, the actress was honoured by the country's fourth civilian award, Padma Shri from the Government of India.