Madhubala (born February 14, 1933, Delhi, British India—died February 23, 1969, Bombay [now Mumbai], Maharashtra, India) was an Indian actress who was the most celebrated female Bollywood star during the 1950s and ’60s. She was especially famed for her beauty, so much so that her accomplished acting was often overlooked.
Dehlavi was still a child when her impoverished Pashtun family moved to a slum in Bombay that was close to the Bombay Talkies film studio. Shortly thereafter she began appearing in movies, and she was billed as Baby Mumtaz for her roles in Basant (1942) and Dhanna Bhagat (1945). The diligent actress attracted the attention of Devika Rani, a cofounder of the studio, who suggested that she call herself Madhubala, and, after Neel Kamal (1947) with Raj Kapoor, she was so billed. She acted in several films each year, becoming her family’s primary source of income. Her role as a ghostly young woman in the supernatural suspense drama Mahal (1949), in which she acted opposite Ashok Kumar, made her a star.
After Madhubala starred with Dilip Kumar in the romance Tarana (1951), the pair were linked romantically. They appeared together again in Sangdil (1952), a loose adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s novel Jane Eyre, and in the drama Amar (1954). Her other notable roles included that of a spoiled and naïve heiress in the comedy Mr. and Mrs. ’55 (1955), directed by and costarring Guru Dutt; a young woman raised by poor itinerants in the comedy Phagun (1958), popular for its songs; an intrepid reporter in Kala Pani (1958), costarring Dev Anand; and an independent woman whose car has broken down in the comedy Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958). She was also remembered for her songs in the thriller Howrah Bridge (1958).
Madhubala’s romance with Dilip Kumar ended because of her father’s interference, although they costarred in the epic blockbuster Mughal-e-Azam (1960), perhaps her best-known film. That year Madhubala married the comic actor Kishore Kumar, a frequent costar, but the marriage was reportedly unhappy. In the mid-1950s it emerged that Madhubala was afflicted with ventricular septal defect, a congenital heart condition for which there was then no treatment, and by 1960 her health had begun to noticeably deteriorate. She continued to make hit movies for a time, however—including the romance Barsaat Ki Raat (1960), the thriller Passport (1961), and the comedy Half Ticket (1962)—but she spent her final years in seclusion before dying shortly after her 36th birthday. During her 1950s heyday, she attracted attention from Hollywood, and director Frank Capra reportedly wanted to bring her to Los Angeles but was turned down by her father. In 2008 India issued a postage stamp featuring her image.