Poornima Bhagyaraj is a veteran Indian actress best known for her work in Tamil and Malayalam cinema during the late 1970s and 1980s. Born on July 18, 1960, in Mumbai, Maharashtra, she entered the entertainment industry as a child artist and later became one of the popular leading actresses of South Indian cinema. She made her Malayalam lead debut with Manjil Virinja Pookkal in 1980, a landmark film that also introduced Mohanlal to the Malayalam film industry. Her performance and screen presence quickly established her as a talented actress.
In Tamil cinema, Poornima worked with several leading actors and appeared in films across romance, family drama and commercial genres. Her notable Tamil films include Payanangal Mudivathillai, Nenjil Oru Mul, Thanga Magan and Adutha Varisu. She shared the screen with major stars including Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan and Sivaji Ganesan. Poornima married renowned Tamil filmmaker and actor K. Bhagyaraj in 1984. Their son Shanthanu Bhagyaraj later entered Tamil cinema as an actor. After taking a break from acting, Poornima returned to the screen and has continued to make selected appearances in Tamil films and television. She is also associated with the upcoming Tamil film Hi, featuring Kavin and Nayanthara.