Manisha Koirala

Profile Overview

Manisha Koirala (born 16 August 1970) is a Nepalese actress who works in Indian cinema, predominantly in Hindi and Tamil films. Born into the politically prominent Koirala family, she is the daughter of Prakash Koirala and the granddaughter of B. P. Koirala. One of the most popular and highest-paid actresses of her time, she is the recipient several accolades, including three Filmfare Awards, one Filmfare Awards South and one Filmfare OTT Award. In 2001, the Government of Nepal awarded her with the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu.
Manisha made her acting debut with the Nepali film Pheri Bhetaula (1989), and later debuted in Indian cinema with the Hindi drama Saudagar (1991). Following a brief setback, she established herself with commercial successes in both Bollywood and Kollywood films, including Bombay (1995), Agni Sakshi (1996), Indian (1996), Gupt: The Hidden Truth (1997), Kachche Dhaage (1999), Mudhalvan (1999) and Company (2002). She also received critical recognition for playing a naive girl in 1942: A Love Story (1994), an ambitious wife in Akele Hum Akele Tum (1995), the daughter of deaf-mute parents in Khamoshi: The Musical (1996), a terrorist in Dil Se.. (1998) and a mistreated woman in Lajja (2001).
Over the course of the next decade, she garnered praise for her performances in several unconventional and art-house films, such as the survival drama Escape From Taliban (2003), the Malayalam psychological drama Elektra (2010), and the anthology film I Am (2010). In 2012, Koirala took a break from acting after being diagnosed with last stage ovarian cancer and underwent an year-long treatment, making a successful recovery by mid-2014. She returned with the coming-of-age drama Dear Maya (2017), followed by her portrayal of actress Nargis in Sanju (2018). The same year Koirala featured in the Netflix production Lust Stories. She has since starred in the period drama series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar (2024).
In addition to acting in films, Koirala was appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund in 1999 for India and 2015 for Nepal, and was involved in the relief works after the April 2015 Nepal earthquake. She also contributed as an author to the novel Healed: How Cancer Gave Me a New Life; which is an account of her struggle with ovarian cancer.