Jayaprada’s real name is Lalita Rani and she was born in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh. Her father was a film financier while her mother who dreamt of seeing her daughter as a star got her enrolled in dance and music classes at an early age. It was at the age of 14 when Jaya was performing at her school function that a film director saw her from the audience and gave her a break. She got a chance to do a three minute dance number for the film Bhoomi Kosam.
 
But her big break came in the year 1976 when Jaya did the film Anthuleni Katha directed by K Balachander followed by Siri Siri Muvva by K Vishwanath. From then on, there is no turning back as Jaya paired up with the likes of N T Rama Rao, ANR, Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth. She then made her debut in Bollywood in the year 1979 with the film Sargam. She then shot to fame with the film Sharaabi wherein she paired up with the legendary Amitabh Bachchan.
 
Jaya entered politics in the year 1994 through the TDP and she was nominated to Rajya Sabha in 1996 with the recommendation of Chandrababu Naidu. Later, she had differences and then joined the Samajwadi Party where Amar Singh became her mentor. However, at one point, few issues cropped up and she has decided to return to Andhra Pradesh and join a political party. Jayaprada has won few awards in her career and she scored better success as an actress than a politician.