Lakshmi was born on December 13, 1952, in Madras, Tamil Nadu, India, to a prominent business family. Her father, Y.V. Rao, was a renowned filmmaker and actor, known for his thought-provoking films that tackled important social issues. Her mother, Kumari Rukmini, was a talented Tamil actress, whose mother, Nungambakkam Janaki, was also an actress.
Lakshmi began her acting career at the tender age of 15. Her first film was the Tamil film "Jeevanamsam" in 1968. She quickly rose to stardom in South India in the 1970s, acting in all four South Indian languages in which she is fluent: Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada.
Her Malayalam hit "Chattakkari" (1974) was remade in Hindi as "Julie" (1975) and in Telugu as "Miss Julie Prema Katha" (1975). "Julie" became a massive hit, earning Lakshmi the Filmfare Best Actress Award and the Bengal Film Journalists' Association Award for "most outstanding work of the year."
After her success in "Julie," Lakshmi didn't star in many Hindi films, instead focusing on doing more South Indian films. She won the National Film Award for Best Actress for the Tamil film "Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal" (1977),becoming one of the first South Indian actresses to win in that category for a Tamil film.
When her career as a leading lady ended in the 1980s, Lakshmi started playing supporting roles as mother and later as grandmother. She played grandmothers to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in "Jeans" (1998) and Kareena Kapoor in "Hulchul" (2004). Throughout her illustrious career, Lakshmi has performed in more than 400 films.
Lakshmi has also been involved in politics and took a break from acting to host two talk shows, including the Tamil talk show "achamillai, achamillai." After the talk shows ended, she returned to acting in films.
In her personal life, Lakshmi was married three times. Her first marriage was to Baskar, which was arranged by her parents when she was 17. Her only biological child, Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran, was born in 1971. Her marriage ended in divorce, and she gained custody of her daughter, who later became an actress in the 1990s, carrying on the family tradition.
Lakshmi fell in love with her "Chattakkari" (1974) leading man Mohan, but that relationship ended. While she was shooting "En Uyir Kannamma" (1988),she and actor-director K.S. Sivachandran fell in love and got married. She adopted a baby girl in 2001. Her daughter Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran gave birth to a baby girl in the mid-1990s, making Lakshmi a grandmother.
