| Alias | Gopishantha Kasi Clockudaiyar, Aachi |
|---|---|
| Age | 75 years |
| Height | 5'4" |
| Weight | 52.00 Kgs |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Language Worked in | Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam |
| Birth Place | Mannargudi, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Eye Color | Black |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Favourite Actors | M G Ramachandran, Kamal Hassan |
| Favourite Cuisine | South Indian |
| Favourite Color | White |
| City | Chennai |
Manorama, was born Gopi Shantha to Kasi Kilakudaiyar and Ramamritham on 26 May 1943 at Mannargudi, Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu. Later her family moved to Pallathur near Karaikudi owing to poverty. She started her acting career at 12 years as a drama artist. When she started her stage performances she was rechristened as Manorama by the drama director, Thiruvengadam, and the harmonist, Thiayagarajan. She continued to act in plays and also performed on stage as a playback singer.
Manorama, in her early stage was an amateur drama artist,acted in few dramas of 'Vairam nataka sabha' in small roles.Once she went to see a drama of S.S.Rajendran who camped in Pudukkotai, Tamilnadu, she was introduced to SSR by one Mr P.A.Kumar .She showed her talent of dialogue delivery to SSR who offered her to join in S.S.R NATAKA MANDRAM and played in hundreds of stages all over tamilnadu the dramas named Manimagudam,Thenpandiveeran and pudhuvellam. Manorama slowly migrated from dramas to the silver screen with the role of a heroine in the Tamil film Maalayitta Mangai.A lead role given to her by Kavignar Kannadasan. Then, she concentrated more on comedy. She was given equally challenging roles alongside the well known comedian Nagesh. They made an excellent pair and acted in many praiseworthy comedies.
She has the distinction of having acted with five chief ministers of South India. She was the female lead in the stage plays written, directed and acted by Mr C. N. Annadurai, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. She has also acted in stage plays with another Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr. M. Karunanidhi. She has acted in films with Dr. M. G. Ramachandran and Dr. Jayalalitha Jayaram who both became Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu later. She has also acted in Telugu films with Dr. N T Rama Rao, who became the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2002.
She won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for the movie Pudhiya Pathai in 1989.[19] She holds a Guinness World Record for acting in most number of films. She was the recipient of the Kalaimamani award by the Government of Tamil Nadu.