Jaya Prada is an Indian actress and politician who has acted in more than 60 films in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Punjabi, and Marathi. She was born Lalitha Rani Rao on April 3, 1962 in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh. She has been married to Shrikant Nahata since 1986. 

Prada has won many awards, including the Nandi Best Actress Award, the Kala Saraswati Award, the Kinnear Savitri Award, the Rajiv Gandhi Award, the Nargis Dutt Gold Medal, the Shakuntala Kala Ratnam Award, the Uttam Kumar Award, the Artist Award (2005 ), and the ANR Achievement Award (2008). She was the highest paid Hindi actress from 1985–1989, and the third highest paid from 1990–1992.
 
Prada has also served as a Member of the Lok Sabha from 2004–2014, and as a Member of Rajya Sabha from 1996–2002.