Madhubala

Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films. The country's highest-paid star in early 1950s, Madhubala appeared in over 60 films in a career spanning more than two decades. Over years, her looks and roles have acquired an iconic status, and in 2013, an ''Eastern Eye'' poll named her as the 24th greatest Bollywood star of all time.

Born and raised in Delhi, Madhubala relocated to Bombay (now Mumbai) with her family when she was 8 years old and shortly after appeared in minor roles in a number of films. She soon progressed to leading roles in the late 1940s, and earned success with the dramas ''Neel Kamal'' (1947) and ''Amar'' (1954), the horror film ''Mahal'' (1949), and the romantic films ''Badal'' (1951) and ''Tarana'' (1951). Following a brief setback, Madhubala found continued success with her roles in the comedies ''Mr. & Mrs. '55'' (1955), ''Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi'' (1958) and ''Half Ticket'' (1962), the crime films ''Howrah Bridge'' and ''Kala Pani'' (both 1958), and the musical ''Barsaat Ki Raat'' (1960).

Madhubala's portrayal of Anarkali in the historical epic drama ''Mughal-e-Azam'' (1960)the highest-grossing film in India at the timeearned her widespread critical acclaim and her only nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress; her performance has since been described by critics as one of the finest in Indian cinematic history. She worked sporadically in film in the 1960s, making her final appearance in the drama ''Sharabi'' (1964). Additionally, she produced three films under her production house Madhubala Private Ltd., which was co-founded by her in 1953.

Despite maintaining strong privacy, Madhubala earned significant media coverage for performing actively in charity, and for her relationships with actor Dilip Kumar, which lasted seven years, and with actor-singer Kishore Kumar, whom she eventually married in 1960. From the beginning of her thirties, she suffered from recurring bouts of breathlessness and hemoptysis caused by a ventricular septal defect, ultimately leading to her death in 1969. Provided by Wikipedia