| Bio/Wiki | |
|---|---|
| Real Name | Smriti Malhotra |
| Profession(s) | Actress, Model, Politician |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (approx.) | in centimeters– 170 cm in meters– 1.70 m in feet inches– 5’ 7” |
| Weight (approx.) | in kilograms– 80 kg in pounds– 176 lbs |
| Eye Colour | Black |
| Hair Colour | Black |
| Politics | |
| Political Party | Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
 |
| Political Journey | 2003: Joined BJP 2004: Contested the Lok Sabha Elections from Chandi Chowk in Delhi and lost to Congress candidate Kapil Sibal. The same year, she was absorbed as a Vice-President for the Maharashtra youth wing 2009: Campaigned for Vijay Goel’s candidature in New Delhi 2010: Appointed as the National Secretary of the party and was roped in as the President of the Mahila (women) wing for BJP 2011: Became a member of the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat 2014: Contested the Lok Sabha Elections against Rahul Gandhi in the Amethi Constituency and lost by 1,07,923 votes. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed her as the Minister of Human Resource Development in his cabinet 2016: In July, the Ministry of Human Resource Development was taken away from Irani, and she was given the Ministry of Textiles instead, in a cabinet reshuffle 2017: In July, she was handed the additional charge of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting 2018: In May, the additional charge of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting was taken away from her and was given to Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore 2019: Contested the Lok Sabha Elections against Rahul Gandhi in the Amethi Constituency and won by a margin of 55,120 votes and became the Minister of Women and Child Development 2022: She was given the additional charge of the Ministry of Minority Affairs after Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi resigned from the Union Cabinet, a day before the completion of his Rajya Sabha term. [1] |
| TV Career | |
| Debut | Video Song: Song “Boliyan” of the album “Saawan Mein Lag Gayi Aag” with Mika Singh in 1998 TV Serial: Aatish and Hum Hain Kal Aaj Aur Kal, both aired on Star Plus in 2000 TV Producer: Virrudh for Sony TV in 2007 TV Host: Yeh Hai Jalwa, a dance based reality show on 9X in 2008 Film (Actress): Amrita, a Bengali film in 2012 |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 23 March 1976 (Tuesday) |
| Age (as of 2022) | 46 Years |
| Birthplace | New Delhi |
| Zodiac sign | Aries |
| Signature |
 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | New Delhi, India |
| School | Holy Child Auxilium School, New Delhi |
| College/University | School of Open Learning, University of Delhi |
| Educational Qualification | • 12th Pass • Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com) first year from Delhi University’s School of Open Learning (did not complete the three-year degree course) |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Caste/Ethnicity | • Half-Punjabi half-Maharashtrian (from her father’s side) • Bengali-Assamese (from her mother’s side) |
| Address | A-602, Neptune Apartments, Swami Samarth Nagar 4th Cross Lane, Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri West, Mumbai 400053 |
| Hobbies | Doing Yoga, Listening to Music, Travelling, Playing Carrom |
| Controversies | • Her educational qualification became controversial in 2014 when she made contradictory claims regarding her educational degrees. In 2004, she claimed to have a degree in BA while in 2014 she claimed to have a degree in Commerce.
• She was criticized for not taking appropriate action in the suicide case of a Dalit student of Hyderabad University, Rohit Vemula. • A number of central-university Vice Chancellors criticized Irani when she sacked two vice chancellors, during her tenure as HRD Minister. • In October 2014, a furor was created over her decision to replace German with Sanskrit as the third language in Kendriya Vidyalayas. • Management institutes i.e., IIMs were at the loggerheads with Irani when she cleared a clause to include the IIMs under the ambit of her ministry. • A number of bureaucrats left her ministry citing her high-handed way of functioning. • On 23 July 2022, the Indian National Congress demanded resignation of Union minister Smriti Irani after they alleged her daughter of running a restaurant bar in Goa “illegally.” They also accused her daughter of procuring the license of the bar “fraudulently” in the name of a deceased person. Later, Smriti Irani called thesese accusations “malicious” and said that her daughter Zoish was the target only because “her mother does press conferences against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.” She said, “The allegation that my daughter runs an illegal bar is malicious with the intent not only to assassinate her character but also to politically malign me. And to the Gandhi family, which directed that this press conference [by Congress] be held against my child, I tell you this, send Rahul Gandhi back to fight the Lok Sabha election in 2024 from Amethi and he will lose again. That is my promise as a BJP worker and as a mother to that 18-year-old. I will see them in the court of law.” [2] |
| Relationships & More | |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Affairs/Boyfriends | Not Known |
| Marriage Date | Year 2001 |
| Family | |
| Husband/Spouse | Zubin Irani (Businessman)
 |
| Children | Son– Zohr Irani (Born in 2001)
 Daughters– Zoish Irani (Born in 2003), Shanelle Irani (Step-daughter) (engaged to Arjun Bhalla)   |
| Parents | Father– Ajay Kumar Malhotra Mother– Shibani Bagchi  |
| Siblings | Brother– Name Not Known Sister(s)– Two Younger Sisters (Names Not Known)  |
| Favourites | |
| Food | Gujarati Cuisines, Pizza, Chocolates |
| Fruit | Strawberry |
| Colour | Blue |
| Actor(s) | Dharmendra, Saif Ali Khan, Shah Rukh Khan |
| Actress(es) | Rekha, Hema Malini |
| Cartoon Show | Tom and Jerry |
| Politician(s) | Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Narendra Modi |
| Film(s) | Mr. India (1987), Avengers Series |
| Film Director | Shekhar Kapur |
| Style Quotient | |
| Assets/Properties | Movable: Rs. 3.83 Crore (as in 2019) Immovable: Rs. 7.28 Crore (as in 2019) |
| Money Factor | |
| Salary (as a Member of Parliament) | Rs. 1 Lakh + Other Allowances (as in 2019) |
| Net Worth (approx.) | Rs. 11.11 Crore (as in 2019) |
Some Lesser Known Facts About Smriti Irani
- Does Smriti Irani smoke?: No
- Does Smriti Irani drink alcohol?: No
- Smriti Irani is a popular Indian TV actress-turned-politician.
- Her mother was a member of Jana Sangh and her grandfather was an RSS Swayamsevak.
- When Smriti Irani was still a schoolgirl in Delhi, her parents had invited an astrologer to predict their three daughters’ futures. The astrologer declared that while her two younger sisters would do all right, “Badi Ladki Ka Kuchh Nahin Hoga.”
Smriti Irani Childhood Photo
- In an interview, she revealed that her parents had no big dreams for her either; they just wanted her to get married to a good boy.
Smriti Irani’s Childhood Photo
- Growing up in Delhi, Smriti wanted to become either a civil servant or a journalist. However, her father didn’t approve of any of them; as he thought that neither profession would suit her.
Smriti Irani In Her School Days
- Thereafter, she packed her bags for Mumbai where she participated in the Femina Miss India contest in 1998. However, she couldn’t reach the top 9. In the contest, Lymaraina D’Souza had become the winner.
Smriti Irani- Miss India Competition
- In the early days of her career, Irani worked at McDonald’s in Bandra, Mumbai as a waitress. On his job at McDonald’s, Smriti says-All I wanted at that point was to graduate to the next level where I would be the one standing and welcoming guests to McDonald’s. That meant more money.”
- She appeared in a song of the album “Saawan Mein Lag Gayi Aag” with Mika Singh in 1998.
- Smriti was first spotted by the TV producer Shobha Kapoor (Ekta Kapoor’s mother) when she was working with the producer of a show called Bakeman’s Ooh La La.
- In the mid-2000, she became a household name when she played the role of Tulsi Virani in Ekta Kapoor’s production “Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi” on Star Plus. The serial ran for eight years and Smriti became India’s most loved Bahu. Smriti says she never saw even a single episode of the serial though.
- Before her TV stint, Smriti had also done numerous modelling assignments.
Smriti Irani In Her Modelling Days
- She holds the record for the maximum number (consecutively five times) of Indian Television Academy Awards for Best Actress (popular).
Smriti Irani At The 2017 ITA Awards
- Reportedly, she developed differences with Ekta Kapoor and left the show in 2007. However, in 2008, she made a comeback in a special episode.
Smriti Irani With Ekta Kapoor
- She also played the mythological role of Sita in Zee TV’s Ramayan in 2001.
- In 2003, while Kyunki… was still at its peak, Smriti joined the BJP, a party which was then looking after a high-profile showbiz star into its fold.
Smriti Irani Joining BJP in 2003
- In 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, she contested unsuccessfully against Rahul Gandhi from the Amethi Constituency in Uttar Pradesh.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed her as HRD Minister in his cabinet on 26 May 2014, making her the youngest Cabinet Minister at that time.
- Smriti has also been one of the BJP’s most visible faces in media interactions.
- She has always been in demand for rallies and campaigning as she is fluent in Hindi, English, Gujarati, Marathi, and Bengali.
- During her campaign in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, in which she went on to defeat Rahul Gandhi, she did firefighter avatar in dousing a fire which had broken out in a village in Amethi.
References
- 1 ↑ NDTV
- 2 ↑ The Indian Express
