Manisha Koirala

Manisha Koirala is the established actress of the reign 1990s. The beauty was born on 16th August, 1970 at Kathmandu, Nepal in Koirala family, which was into politics. She is the granddaughter of the former prime minister, Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala and her father being the cabinet minister, Prakash Koirala.

She stayed with her grandmother in Varanasi and has done her schooling from India itself. During her school days, she wanted to be a doctor, but fate had decided to get her in glamour world. She started off as a model, thereby getting film offers. She debuted into acting with Nepali Cinema, 'Pheri Bhetaula' in 1989.

In 1991, she ventured in Bollywood with Subhash Ghai's 'Saudagar' (1991), it was the biggest hit of the year. It kickstarted Manisha's Bollywood career. After a series of flop films from 1992-93, she bloomed back with Vidhu Vinod Chopra's '1942 A Love Story' and Mani Ratnam's 'Bombay', for which she bagged Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actress and Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance.

She delivered splendid performances in the movies like 'Akele Hum Akele Tum' and 'Agni Saakshi'. In 1996, 'Khamoshi: The Musical' earned her prestigious Filmfare Best Performance Award and Star Screen Award for Best Actress. Later, she was also seen playing pivotal roles in 'Gupt', 'Dil Se', 'Mann', 'Lajja' and 'Company'. Due to her intense performance in many of her films, she was also called as "Meena Kumari" of her generation.

Manisha has obtained a diploma in Film Making from New York, U.S.A. She did her TV debut, alongside Anupam Kher in the show 'Sawaal Dus Crore Ka' on Zee TV. She is a member of Independent Film Makers Society. She is also the goodwill ambassador of U.N.F.P.A. She is active into social work, working for woman's rights as well as in human trafficking, especially for Nepali women, who are abducted and sold as prostitutes.

She was engaged to the former Australian ambassador to Nepal, Christpin Conroy, but later broke up with him. In 2010, she married Nepali businessman, Samrat Dahal, but in 2012 the couple got divorced. In 2012, Manisha was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer, which she battled bravely and now is on healing terms.