Born in Melukote in Karnataka, Jayalalithaa made her film debut in a Kannada movie titled Sri Shaila Mahatme as child artist
Jayalalithaa later played female lead opposite Kalyan Kumar in Chinnada Gombe
After acting in several Tamil plays, Jaya was paired opposite MGR in 28 films, all box office hits
Jaya joined MGR's AIADMK in 1982 and her debut political speech on greatness of woman at Cuddalore was a superhit
Jaya contested the 1989 elections as MGR's political heir and won
Jaya became the CM first time riding on the wave of sympathy (post Rajiv Gandhi's death), thanks to her party's alliance with INC
However, the three terms after that came effortlessly for Jaya, thanks to her populist schemes, leading her to become Puratchi Thalaivi