J. Jayalalithaa Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids J. Jayalalithaa
J. Jayalalithaa in August 2015

5th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
In office 23 May 2016 – 5 December 2016
Governor	Konijeti Rosaiah C. Vidyasagar Rao (Additional Charge)
Preceded by	O. Panneerselvam
Succeeded by	O. Panneerselvam
Constituency	Radhakrishnan Nagar
In office 16 May 2011 – 27 September 2014
Governor	Surjit Singh Barnala Konijeti Rosaiah
Preceded by	M. Karunanidhi
Succeeded by	O. Panneerselvam
Constituency	Srirangam
In office 2 March 2002 – 12 May 2006
Governor	P. S. Ramamohan Rao Surjit Singh Barnala
Preceded by	O. Panneerselvam
Succeeded by	M. Karunanidhi
Constituency	Andipatti
In office 14 May 2001 – 21 September 2001
Governor	Fathima Beevi C. Rangarajan (Additional Charge)
Preceded by	M. Karunanidhi
Succeeded by	O. Panneerselvam
Constituency	Did not contest
In office 24 June 1991 – 12 May 1996
Governor	Bhishma Narain Singh Marri Chenna Reddy
Preceded by	President's rule
Succeeded by	M. Karunanidhi
Constituency	Bargur
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office 3 April 1984 – 28 January 1989
Leader of the House	Pranab Mukherjee Vishwanath Pratap Singh N. D. Tiwari P. Shiv Shankar
Preceded by	Sathyavani Muthu
Succeeded by	Tha. Kiruttinan
Constituency	Tamil Nadu
Leader of the Opposition in Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
In office 29 May 2006 – 14 May 2011
Chief Minister	M. Karunanidhi
Preceded by	O. Panneerselvam
Succeeded by	Vijayakant
Constituency	Andipatti
In office 9 February 1989 – 30 November 1989
Chief Minister	M. Karunanidhi
Preceded by	O. Subramanian
Succeeded by	S. R. Eradha
Constituency	Bodinayakkanur
Member of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
In office 4 July 2015 – 5 December 2016
Chief Minister	Herself
Preceded by	P. Vetrivel
Succeeded by	T. T. V. Dhinakaran
Constituency	Radhakrishnan Nagar
In office 23 May 2011 – 27 September 2014
Chief Minister	Herself
Preceded by	M. Paranjothi
Succeeded by	S. Valarmathi
Constituency	Srirangam
In office 24 February 2002 – 14 May 2011
Chief Minister	Herself M. Karunanidhi
Preceded by	Thanga Tamil Selvan
Succeeded by	Thanga Tamil Selvan
Constituency	Andipatti
In office 1 July 1991 – 12 May 1996
Chief Minister	Herself
Preceded by	K. R. Rajendran
Succeeded by	E. G. Sugavanam
Constituency	Bargur
In office 6 February 1989 – 30 January 1991
Chief Minister	M. Karunanidhi
Preceded by	K. S. M. Ramachandran
Succeeded by	V. Panneerselvam
Constituency	Bodinayakkanur
General Secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
In office 9 February 1989 – 5 December 2016
Inaugural Holder	M. G. Ramachandran
Preceded by	V. R. Nedunchezhiyan
Succeeded by	position abolished
Propaganda Secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
In office 1983–1984
Party President	M. G. Ramachandran
General Secretary	P. U. Shanmugam

Personal details
Born	Jayaram Jayalalitha (1948-02-24)24 February 1948 Melukote, Mysore State, Dominion of India (present day Karnataka, India)
Died	5 December 2016(2016-12-05) (aged 68) Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Cause of death	Cardiac Arrest
Resting place	Puratchi Thalaivi Jayalalithaa Ninaividam
Political party	All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Relatives	Deepa Jayakumar (niece)
Residences	Veda Nilayam 81, Poes Garden, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Alma mater	Bishop Cotton Girls' School Church Park Presentation Convent Stella Maris College, Chennai
Profession	Film actress writer politician philanthropist
Awards	Honorary Doctorate (1991) Kalaimamani (1972)
Nicknames	Puratchi Thalaivi, Thanga Tharagai, Kalai Selvi, Amma

Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and film actress who served four times as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for fifteen years between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989, she was the general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), a Dravidian party whose cadre revered her as their "Amma" (mother) and Puratchi Thalaivi (revolutionary leader). 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. Ramachandran, a Tamil cultural icon who leveraged his immense popularity with the masses into a successful political career. In 1982, when MGR was chief minister, Jayalalithaa joined the AIADMK, the party he founded. Her political rise was rapid; within a few years she became AIADMK propaganda secretary and was elected to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's Parliament. After MGR's death in 1987, Jayalalithaa proclaimed herself his political heir and, having fought off the faction headed by Janaki Ramachandran, MGR's widow, emerged as the sole leader of the AIADMK. Following the 1989 election, she became Leader of the Opposition to the DMK-led government headed by Karunanidhi, her bête noire.

In 1991 Jayalalithaa became chief minister, Tamil Nadu's youngest, for the first time. She earned a reputation for centralising state power among a coterie of bureaucrats; her council of ministers, whom she often shuffled around, were largely ceremonial in nature. The successful cradle-baby scheme, which enabled mothers to anonymously offer their newborns for adoption, emerged during this time. Despite an official salary of only a rupee a month, Jayalalithaa indulged in public displays of wealth, culminating in a lavish wedding for her foster son in 1995. In the 1996 election, the AIADMK was nearly wiped out at the hustings; Jayalalithaa herself lost her seat. The new Karunanidhi government filed several corruption cases against her, and she had to spend time in jail. Her fortunes revived in the 1998 general election, as the AIADMK became a key component of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's 1998–99 government; her withdrawal of support toppled it and triggered another general election just a year later.

The AIADMK returned to power in 2001, although Jayalalithaa was personally disbarred from contesting due to the corruption cases. Within a few months of her taking oath as chief minister, in September 2001, she was disqualified from holding office and forced to cede the chair to loyalist O. Panneerselvam. Upon her acquittal six months later, Jayalalithaa returned as chief minister to complete her term. Noted for its ruthlessness to political opponents, many of whom were arrested in midnight raids, her government grew unpopular. Another period (2006–11) in the opposition followed, before Jayalalithaa was sworn in as chief minister for the fourth time after the AIADMK swept the 2011 assembly election. Her government received attention for its extensive social-welfare agenda, which included several subsidised "Amma"-branded goods such as canteens, bottled water, salt and cement. Three years into her tenure, she was convicted in a disproportionate-assets case, rendering her disqualified to hold office. She returned as chief minister after being acquitted in May 2015. In the 2016 assembly election, she became the first Tamil Nadu chief minister since MGR in 1984 to be voted back into office. That September, she fell severely ill and, following 75 days of hospitalisation, died on 5 December 2016 due to cardiac arrest.

On 29 May 2020, Jayalalithaa's nephew J. Deepak and niece J. Deepa were declared as her legal heirs by Madras High Court.