Sridevi Kapoor, born as Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan on 13 August 1963, hailed from Sivakasi, Madras State, India. She was raised in a Tamil-speaking household. Sridevi was married to film producer Boney Kapoor. They had two daughters, actresses Janhvi Kapoor and Khushi Kapoor. She also had a step-daughter, Anshula Kapoor, and a step-son, Arjun Kapoor.

Sridevi juggled her education with her early acting career. She often studied on set, but eventually, the demands of her career made it impractical to continue her formal education.

Sridevi's acting career spanned over five decades, starting with her debut as a child actor in the 1967 Tamil film "Kandhan Karunai" at the age of four. She began playing lead roles as a child in M. A. Thirumugam's 1969 mythological Tamil film "Thunaivan".

Her first role as an adult came in 1976 at age 13, in the Tamil film "Moondru Mudichu". She established herself as a leading female star of South Indian Cinema, with roles in films such as "16 Vayathinile" (1977), "Sigappu Rojakkal" (1978), "Padaharella Vayasu" (1978), "Varumayin Niram Sivappu" (1980), "Meendum Kokila" (1981), "Premabhishekam" (1981), "Vazhvey Maayam" (1982), "Moondram Pirai" (1982), "Aakhari Poratam" (1988), "Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari" (1990) and "Kshana Kshanam" (1991).

Sridevi's first starring role in Hindi cinema came with the drama film "Solva Sawan" (1979), and she received wider recognition for the action film "Himmatwala" (1983).

She emerged as a leading Hindi film star with several successes, including "Mawaali" (1983), "Justice Chaudhury" (1983), "Tohfa" (1984), "Maqsad" (1984), "Masterji" (1985), "Karma" (1986), "Mr. India" (1987), "Waqt Ki Awaz" (1988) and "Chandni" (1989).

Sridevi was the recipient of various accolades, including a National Film Award, four Filmfare Awards (a Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award and three Filmfare Awards South), two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, a Kerala State Film Award, and a Nandi Award. In 2013, she was honoured with the Padma Shri, the country's fourth highest civilian honour.

Sridevi passed away on 24 February 2018 at the age of 54.