Smriti Irani is an Indian politician and a former TV actress and producer. She is a member of Lok Sabha from Amethi. She is currently serving in the cabinet of Narendra Modi. In 2019 general election, she defeated Rahul Gandhi the country’s principal opposition leader and the then president of Indian National Congress Party to win the Amethi seat.
Smriti Irani was born as Smriti Malhotra, the daughter of a half-Punjabi, half-Maharashtrian Hindu father, Ajay Kumar Malhotra, and a Bengali Hindu mother, Shibani Bagchi. She is the oldest of three sisters. She has been a part of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) from childhood, her grandfather was an RSS swayamsevak and her mother was a member of Jana Sangh.
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Smriti Irani was educated at the Holy Child Auxilium School, New Delhi, which is run by Catholic nuns. Later, she enrolled in School of Open Learning at University of Delhi. She had written her first year B.Com. exams from that institution, but had not completed the three-year degree course.
In 2001, Smriti Irani married a Parsi businessman, Zubin Irani. In October the same year, the couple had their first child, a son named Zohr. In September 2003, the couple had their second child, a daughter named Zoish. Smriti is also a stepmother to Shanelle who is Zubin Irani’s daughter from his previous marriage to Mona Irani, a coordinator and former beauty contestant.
Smriti Irani was one of the participants of the beauty pageant Miss India 1998 who couldn’t reach the top 9. In 1998, she appeared in a song “Boliyan” of the album with Mika Singh. In 2000, she made her debut with TV series Aatish and Hum Hain Kal Aaj Aur Kal, both aired on Star Plus. Apart from this she also acted in Kavita serial on DD metro.
In mid 2000, Smriti Irani played the lead role of Tulsi Virani in Ekta Kapoor‘s production Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi on Star Plus. She holds the record of winning five consecutive ITA Award for Best Actress Popular and four Indian Telly Awards. In 2002, she also played the epic character Sita in Zee TV’s Ramayan along with Nitish Bharadwaj. In 2007, she produced the TV serial Virrudh for Sony TV. In 2012, she worked in Bengali movie Amrita.
Smriti Irani joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2003. In the general elections held that year for the 14th Lok Sabha, she contested unsuccessfully against Kapil Sibal from the Chandni Chowk constituency in Delhi. During the campaign for the 2009 parliamentary elections, while campaigning for Vijay Goel in the New Delhi constituency, She voiced her concern for women’s safety in the city and advocated capital punishment for rapists as a deterrent.
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In early 2010, Irani was appointed National Secretary of BJP and on 24 June, she was appointed All India President of the BJP’s women’s wing, BJP Mahila Morcha. As National President of BJP Women’s Wing, she successfully pursued Permanent Commission for Women in the Indian Army by facilitating legal aid to women officers who held temporary commission and were agitating for permanent commission.
In August 2011, Irani finally entered parliament. She was sworn in as a member of parliament from Gujarat to the Rajya Sabha. In 2014, she 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. Her appointment was criticised by many people owing to her lack of formal higher education.
In July 2016, in a cabinet reshuffle Smriti Irani was shuffled to the Ministry of Textiles from MHRD. In July 2017, she was handed the additional charge of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting when former Minister Venkaiah Naidu resigned from the ministry to take part in vice-presidential elections. In 2019, she 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. In the second term of the Modi Government, She was appointed as Union Minister for Women and Child Development.
Smriti Irani Wiki Bio Quick Facts :
| Date of Birth / Age : | 23 March 1976 / 45 Years (as in 2021) |
| Nick Name : | Smriti |
| Full Name : | Smriti Malhotra / Smriti Zubin Irani / Smriti Irani |
| Birthplace / Home Town : | New Delhi, India |
| Nationality : | Indian |
| Zodiac Sign / Sun Sign : | Aries |
| Religion : | Hinduism |
| Height : | 170 Cm |
| Weight : | 80 Kg |
| Eye Color : | Black |
| Hair Color : | Black |
| Father : | Ajay Kumar Malhotra |
| Mother : | Shibani Bagchi |
| Sister(s) : | Two |
| Marital Status : | Married (2001) |
| Spouse / Husband : | Zubin Irani |
| Son(s) : | Zohr Irani (2001) |
| Daughter(s) : | Zoish Irani (2003), Shanelle Irani (Step Daughter) |
| Affairs : | Zubin Irani |
| Qualification : | B Com First Year |
| School : | Holy Child Auxilium School, New Delhi |
| College / Universities : | School of Open Learning, University of Delhi |
| Profession : | Actress, Politician |
| Debut : |
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| Political Party : | Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) |
| Net Worth : | Rs 12 Crore (approx) / more than Rs 1 Lakh plus other allowances |
| Twitter : | twitter.com/smritiirani |
| Facebook : | facebook.com/smriti.irani.official |
| Instagram : | instagram.com/smritiiraniofficial |
| Wikipedia | wikipedia.org/wiki/Smriti_Irani |
| Email / Contact : | N/A |
| Address : | Delhi, India |
| Hobbies : | Doing Yoga, Listening to Music, Travelling, Playing Carrom |
| Favorite Food : | Gujarati Cuisines, Pizza, Chocolates |
| Favorite Actor : | Strawberry |
| Favorite Actress | Rekha, Hema Malini |
| Favorite Director : | Shekhar Kapur |
| Favorite Film : | Mr. India, Avenger |
| Favorite Writer : | Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Narendra Modi |
| Favorite Color : | Blue |
Awards :
| 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2010 |
Indian Television Academy Awards for Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi |
| 2005 | Gr8! Women Achiever’s Awards |
| 2014 | Garv Indian TV Awards |
| 2015 | Young Global Leader from India by World Economic Forum |
Controversies :
| Irani was accused of providing contradictory affidavits about her educational qualifications during different elections. |
Some Known Facts About Smriti Irani :
- Does Smriti Irani smoke?: No
- Does Smriti Irani drink alcohol?: No
- Her mother was a member of Jana Sangh and her grandfather was an RSS Swayamsevak.
- 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.
- Growing up in Delhi, she wanted to become either a civil servant or a journalist.
- She reached Mumbai where she participated in the Femina Miss India contest in 1998. However, she couldn’t reach the top 9.
- In the early days of her career, Smriti Irani worked at McDonald’s in Bandra, Mumbai as a waitress.
- She appeared in a song of the album Saawan Mein Lag Gayi Aag with Mika Singh in 1998.
- She had also done numerous modelling assignments.
- She was first spotted by the TV producer Shobha Kapoor, when she was working with the producer of a show called Bakeman’s Ooh La La.
- In 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.
- She also played the mythological role of Sita in Zee TV’s Ramayan in 2001.
- She holds the record for the maximum number (consecutively five times) of Indian Television Academy Awards for Best Actress (popular).
- Reportedly, she developed differences with Ekta Kapoor and left the show in 2007. However, in 2008, she made a comeback in a special episode.
- 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.
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