Jayaram Jayalalithaa was an Indian politician and actress who served as the Six time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989, she was the general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, a Dravidian party whose cadre revered her as their "Amma" and "Puratchi Thalaivi". Her critics in the media and the opposition accused her of fostering a personality cult and of demanding absolute loyalty from AIADMK legislators and ministers, who often publicly prostrated themselves before her.
Jayalalithaa first came into prominence as a leading film actress in the mid-1960s. Though she had entered the profession reluctantly, upon the urging of her mother to support the family, Jayalalithaa worked prolifically. She appeared in 140 films between 1961 and 1980, primarily in the Tamil, Telugu and Kannada languages. Jayalalithaa received praise for her versatility as an actress and for her dancing skills, earning the sobriquet "Queen of Tamil Cinema". Among her frequent co-stars was M. G.