Miyuri Samarasinghe

Wijeratne Miyuri Samarasinghe, known popularly as Miyuri Samarasinghe, was a Sri Lankan actress, dancer, producer, and director. She acted in cinema, television as well as in theatre. She was born on March 15, 1939, in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. She attended the Holy Rosary Catholic School, followed by Musaeus College, Colombo. At age 14, she began dance performances guided by Jayantha Algama. She entered Radio Ceylon, appearing in radio shows with M.K Rocksamy, a Sri Lankan violinist, musician, and music director. She gained significant popularity as an actor in stage plays as well. At the same time, she met Piyal Samarasinghe, her English tutor, who proposed marriage to her.

Thus, she dedicated herself to her marriage rather than art, marking a short break in her career. At age 24, Miyuri Samarasinghe was a mother of four children, Sujeewa, Deepthi, Awanthi, and Ruwan. After a break in her career, she returned to the stage in Welikala Ratna’s play Aluth Dawasak. Unfortunately, her husband died when she was 39 years old. She joined Sudarshi Sinhala Cultural Institute and served as its President. Throughout her career, she acted in over 300 stage plays. She debuted in her first film, Baduth Ekka Horu (1969), followed by a lead role in Miringuwa (1973). She acted in over 50 movies, including Ridee Thela, Madol Duwa, and Viragaya.

She also wrote and directed two plays, Loka Dekak Athra and Parasakwala Peyak, which won Best Actress and Best Production awards. Her original work Hima Kurullo bagged awards for acting, script, and production at the Golden Design Awards. She debuted in teledramas with Bandula Vithanage’s Erabadu Mal. She is known as the actor with the most teledrama appearances. In 1976, she won the Presidential Award for Best Performance, and in 1981, Best Actress for the play Nawasiya Anu Nawaya at the Presidential Festival.

In 2002, her performance in the drama Kemmura won the Best Actress Award. On the 50th anniversary of her career, she released her biography titled Kala Lovve Maam Jantuna Emi. Miyuri Samarasinghe was honored with the title ‘Maanava Hithavadee Keerthi Sri Veeraputra Deshabandu’ for her contributions to the Sri Lankan theatre arts. On February 6, 2021, Miyuri Samarasinghe passed away at age 81.