After the death of her husband, she was forced by his family to leave for Meerut, where she became a nurse, married a Christian named Pyare Lal Shakir Meeruti (1880–1956) who was an Urdu journalist and embraced Christianity.
She had two daughters; one of whom was Prabhavati, Kumari's mother.
1933
Meena Kumari (born Mahjabeen Bano; 1 August 1933 – 31 March 1972) was an Indian actress and poet, who worked in Hindi films.
Kumari was born with the name Mahjabeen to Ali Bux and Iqbal Begum on 1 August 1933.
This was a great disappointment to Ali Bux as he wanted a son.
She was the second daughter and had two sisters; the elder named Khursheed Jr. and the younger named Mahliqa (known as Madhu, a former child artist married to actor Mehmood) Her father could not afford to pay the doctor for her delivery, so he left her at an orphanage, but he changed his mind a few hours later and took her back home.
As a child, Kumari was not keen on having a film career, and would rather attend school.
Despite this, her parents started taking her to film studios for work opportunities.
Director Vijay Bhatt cast Mahjabeen in the film Leatherface and on her first day of work, she was paid Rs.
25.
1939
Popularly known as The Tragedy Queen, she was active between 1939 and 1972.
Kumari is widely considered one of the greatest actresses of Indian cinema.
In a career spanning 33 years, from child actress to adult, she starred in over 90 films.
She died at the age of 38 years, from cirrhosis of the liver, which has been associated with her alcoholism.
Kumari won four Filmfare Awards in the Best Actress category.
Leatherface was released in 1939.
She became the breadwinner in the Bux family at a very young age.
She initially worked mostly in Vijay Bhatt productions; Leather Face (1939), Adhuri Kahani (1939), Pooja (1940) and Ek Hi Bhool (1940).
1940
Bhatt rechristened Mahjabeen as "Baby Meena" during the filming of Ek Hi Bhool (1940).
By the late 1940s, she shifted her focus to mythology or fantasy films.
1941
More films followed, namely Nai Roshni (1941), Bahen (1941), Kasauti (1941), Vijay (1942), Garib (1942), Pratiggya (1943) and Lal Haveli (1944).
1946
She was cast under the name Meena Kumari in Ramnik Production's Bachchon Ka Khel (1946).
Duniya Ek Sarai (1946), Piya Ghar Aaja (earlier titled Jalan) (1948) and Bichchade Balam (1948) were some of her early films in which she not only acted but also sang songs.
1947
One of the major setbacks in Kumari's life was the death of her mother who died on 25 March 1947.
1949
Veer Ghatotkach (1949), Shri Ganesh Mahima (1950), Laxmi Narayan (1951), Hanuman Patal Vijay (1951) and Aladdin Aur Jadui Chirag (1952) were films in which she is credited.
1950
Other films, such as Magroor (1950), Hamara Ghar (1950), Sanam (1951), Madhosh (1951), and Tamasha (1952), mostly had an ensemble cast.
1954
She was the recipient of the inaugural Filmfare Best Actress Award for Baiju Bawra in 1954 and had a consecutive win in the second Filmfare Awards (1955) for Parineeta.
1962
In an interview given in 1962, Kumari explained that the fact that she had supported her parents from the age of four gave her immense satisfaction.
She was admitted into a regular school, but the demands of work frequently interrupted her curriculum.
She did not attend school in any meaningful sense, therefore her education was the result of private tuition and self-education.
Kumari began acting when she was four.
1963
Kumari made history at the 10th Filmfare Awards (1963) by receiving all three of the Best Actress nominations, and won for her performance in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam.
1966
In the 13th Filmfare Awards (1966), she won her last Best Actress award for Kaajal.
Critics have noted that her character in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam is similar to her life.
Kumari's father was a Sunni Muslim named Master Ali Bux who had migrated from Bhera (now in Pakistan).
He was a veteran of Parsi theater, played harmonium, wrote Urdu poetry, composed music and also played small roles in a few films.
Kumari's mother Iqbal Begum, whose original name was Prabhavati Devi, was a Christian, who converted to Islam after her marriage.
Iqbal Begum was the second wife of Ali Bux.
Before meeting and marrying Ali Bux, she was a stage actress and was said to be related to the Tagore family of Bengal.
Kumari's grandmother, Hem Sundari Tagore, was either the daughter or a widow of Rabindranath Tagore's distant cousin.
