15 Bollywood Actresses Who Debuted After Marriage

Born in 1909 in Dharwad, Karnakata, Leela Chitnis was a renowned actress of her times. She married very early in her teens and soon had four children. She divorced her husband and to bring up her children took up a teaching job where she also did some stage dramas which eventually helped her to get a break in 1935 in Shri Satyanarayan. Her popular films included Jailor, Jhoola, Awaara, Funtoosh, Naya Daur, Dhool Ka Phool, Hum Dono, Dosti, Guide and Satyam Shivam Sundaram.

Anjali Devi was born in 1927 and primarily worked in Telugu and Tamil films. She married Telugu music director Adinarayana Rao in 1940 before making her acting debut in films. She did two Hindi films namely – Ladki in 1953 starring Vyjayanthimala, Kishore Kumar and Bharat Bhushan and Devta in 1956 with Gemini Ganeshan and Vyjayanthimala. Both films were hits but she preferred to work in south Indian films.

Suchitra Sen was not only considered the first female superstar of Bengali cinema but also one of the heroines who were successful after marriage. Her movies with Uttam Kumar created history at the box-office. She married Debnath Sen in 1947 at the age of 16 and then made her debut in a Bengali film called Shesh Kothaay in 1952, which never released. After making a mark in Bengali, she headed to Bollywood and signed her first film in Hindi which was Bimal Roy’s Devdas opposite Dilip Kumar. Her other notable works have been Mamta, Bambai Ka Babu and Aandhi.

Rakhee was married to director Ajay Biswas when she was still in her teens. The marriage didn’t last long as they separated shortly after one year of marriage. She debuted in a Bengali film called Badhu Baran in 1967 but it was her Bollywood debut opposite Dharmendra in Jeevan Mrityu which got her recognition. Some of her notable works were Kabhi Kabhie (1976), Muqaddar Ka Sikander (1978), Kasme Vaade (1978), Trishul (1978), Kaala Patthar (1979), and Shakti (1982). She married lyricist and director Gulzar but they too separated in a couple of years.

Moushumi Chatterjee became an overnight star in Bengali films when she made her screen debut in Tarun Majumdar’s Balika Badhu in 1967. Immediately after that, she was married off to music director Hemant Mukherjee’s son Jayant Mukherjee when she was still a teenager. She continued her acting career after marriage and went on to make her Bollywood acting debut in 1972 in Shakti Samanta’s Anuraag which was a hit. The 70’s and 80’s saw her pairing with all the top heroes including Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Jeetendra, Sanjeev Kumar and Vinod Mehra.

Dimple Kapadia is one of the actresses who debuted after marriage. She was still shooting for Raj Kapoor’s Bobby opposite Rishi Kapoor in 1973 when she got married to the then superstar of Bollywood Rajesh Khanna. Bobby became a superhit and made her and Rishi Kapoor an overnight sensation but she never signed any films after marriage. Later, after her separation from Rajesh Khanna she made a comeback in 1984 with ‘Zakhmi Sher’ opposite Jeetendra. Her notable films after her comeback were Saagar, Janbaaz, Insaaf, Kaash, Ram Lakhan, Dil Chahta Hai, Dabangg and much more.

Lakshmi who made her award-winning Hindi acting debut with Julie in 1975 was married at the age of 16 and went on to do Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam films. She somewhat disappeared after the success of Julie only later to return and do character roles. She was one of the top lead actresses of the 70’s down south.

The daughter of the legendary Suchitra Sen, Moon Moon Sen like her mother was married off at a very early age in 1978 to a descendant of the royal family of Tripura state. She had already made her debut in Bengali films but she hit big time in Bollywood opposite Jackie Shroff in Andar Baahar in 1984. She did quite a few B grade Hindi films before taking up character roles. Her daughters Raima and Riya Sen also act in Bollywood and are trying to get a foothold beside doing Bengali films.

Zeba Bakhtiar was born in Pakistan and was married before she was chosen to play the title role opposite Rishi Kapoor in Henna in 1991. She later married twice and currently stays in Pakistan. Her short stint in Bollywood helped her meet with relative success. 

Born as Reena Lamba, Mallika Sherawat was married to Delhi-based Jet Airways Pilot Captain Karan Singh Gill which subsequently ended in a divorce. She made her Hindi screen debut in 2002 in the Kareena Kapoor - Tusshar Kapoor starrer Jeena Sirf Merre Liye which unfortunately didn't do anything for her. Later, in 2003 the release of Khwahishein and Murder made her a star. Since then she has acted in selected films of which some did decent business and some failed at the box-office.

Vidya Malvade lost her pilot husband in an air-crash before making her debut in Vikram Bhatt’s Inteha in 2003. She gained recognition in the Shahrukh Khan starrer Chakde India in 2007. After this she did a handful of films before fading away from the limelight. 

Chitrangada Singh debuted with Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi in 2003. The seductress actress married ace golfer Jyoti Singh Randhawa in 2001. She went on to do quite a few films as lead and item girl which include Sorry Bhai, Desi Boyz, Inkaar, Joker and Gabbar Is Back. She divorced her husband in 2014 and now plans to turn producer.

Aditi Rao Hydari married actor Satyadeep Mishra in 2006. After seeking a separation a year later, she made her acting debut in the Malayalam film Prajapathi (2006). She debuted in Hindi films with Delhi 6 in 2008 but her performance in Sudhir Mishra's 2011 film Yeh Saali Zindagi got her into the big league. She played the lead opposite Ali Zafar in London, Paris, New York in 2012 which was followed by Murder 3, Boss, Guddu Rangeela and the upcoming Wazir opposite Farhan Akhtar.

The most searched name on Google in India, Sunny Leone took Bollywood by storm after signing Pooja Bhatt’s Jism 2 in 2012. She married Daniel Weber in 2011 before making her Bollywood debut. Since then Sunny Leone has done a few item songs and leads in films like Jackpot, Ragini MMS 2, Ek Paheli Leela, Kuch Kuch Locha Hai, etc.

Born as Rimpy Kaur Gill in 1975, Mahie Gill got married in her early 20’s before divorcing her husband after a few years. She made her screen debut in Sudhir Mishra’s Khoya Khoya Chand in 2007. But it was Anurag Kashyap’s Dev D where she played the lead opposite Abhay Deol which got her recognition. Since then she has done quite a few leads in films like Gulaal, Pal Pal Dil Ke Ssaat, Not a Love Story, Mirch and Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster series.