Hema Malini was born into a Brahmin Iyengar family. Hema first tried to enter films in 1964, but was rejected by a Tamil director Sridhar saying that she had no star appeal. However, she was adamant to make it big and hence he entered Bollywood with her first movie Sapnon Ka Saudagar (1968) playing a young teen opposite the ageing superstar Raj Kapoor. Paired opposite Dev Anand in Johnny Mera Naam (1970) and with Dharmendra in Seeta aur Geeta (1972) Hema immediately became one of the industry`s favorite sought after stars. She was the top female star in Bollywood and became one of the reigning divas of the Bollywood film industry. Her fans called her The Dream Girl of Bollywood.

The popularity of the Hema Malini-Dharmendra pair, the success of Pramod Chakravarty`s films in the 70s and hits like Andaz (1971) and Sholay (1975) established her as a star and a competent actress, but it was her sensitive portrayals in Gulzar`s films - Khushboo, Kinara and Meera - that proved her powerful talent. Hema is one of the few South Indian stars to carve out a special niche in Hindi films. Her background of classical dance has been a major factor in her success - dance remains an indispensable constituent of a star`s star power. Film direction has been another successful venture - the feature film Dil Ashna Hai was well-received, and introduced Shah Rukh Khan to the silver screen. The tele-serial Nupur invited accolades for her as actress and director, but Mohini, another serial, has been held up due to legal problems. She co-starred with Amitabh Bachchan in the successful film Baghban, and played a cameo role (also opposite Bachchan) in the 2004 blockbuster Veer-Zaara. In both films, she played a beautiful , self-possessed, middle-aged married woman rather than the ingenue role of her earlier career.

She married Dharmendra and they have two children: Ahana Deol and Esha Deol, who is a sucessful Bollywood actress as well. Her two daughters have trained in the related Odissi school of dance, and the three have performed together at several charity dance concerts. She and her husband have been involved in politics, as supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She was elected to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, with the support of the BJP.