Winner of the Guinness World Record along with
Prem Nazir
for featuring in the largest number of consecutive films together as lead actor and actress (107), Sheela is one of the most prominent faces and actors in the Mollywood industry.
Born in Thrissur in March, 1945, to parents K. Antony and Gracy, she was brought up in Coimbatore, and completed her education in the St. Francis Anglo-Indian School.
Sheela made her debut in Paasam opposite MGR, with her first film in Malayalam being Bhagyajathakom in 1962 opposite Sathyan. Following this, the next two decades saw her portray roles in over 475 movies in languages including Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and of course, Malayalam. Her hits include movies such as Chemmeen, Velutha Kathreena, Kallichellamma &
Vazhve Mayam
, Eeta and Vishnu Vijayam.
She has also scripted and directed two movies in the 70’s and 80’s, Yakshaganom and Shikarangal,the latter of which was remade into Tamil. She also has directed a tele-film Ninaivukale Neengividu featuring the actress Jayabharathi. She also played the role of Akhilandeswary in the 2005 blockbuster Chandramukhi. She has also been critically acclaimed for her role in the Sathyan Anthikkad movie Manassinakkare.
Her talents also include writing, with her titled book Kuilinte Koodu and many other short stories. She is the recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress in the years 1969, 1971, 1976 and the Runner up in 2004, the Filmfare Awards South in 1977 as Best actress, and the Lifetime Achievement Award – South in 2000, the National Film Award as Best Supporting Actress in 2005 for the movie Akale, and the Asianet Film Award in 2007 for Best Lifetime Achievement Award.