Meet the actress who suffered from breast cancer at 35, dated Kamal Haasan for 11 years, and left acting to become…, her name is..
GH News June 12, 2025 10:06 AM

Sometimes the lives of film celebs may appear full of glitz and glamour on the surface. However when one peeps inside they discover the pain and hardships these stars have endured to reach success. The actress we are going to discuss today earned immense name fame and money in her professional life but in her personal life she suffered from breast cancer at the early age of 35. Navigating her way through life this actress became a star and even battled the disease bravely.
This actress worked with names like Rajinikanth Kamal Haasan and Amitabh Bachchan. After giving her best in the industry she moved to politics. She is none other than South’s famed actress Gautami Tadimalla.
Gautami made her debut at the age of 16 with the film Dhaayamayadu (1987). After this she made her debut as an adult actress in the film Gandhinagar Rendava Veethi. Her first Tamil film was Rajinikanth’s Guru Sishyan. Later she focused on Telugu and Kannada language films.
Over the years Gautami made a name for herself and featured in movies like Enga Ooru Kavalkaran Ratta Danam Apoorva Sahodharargal En Thangai Raja Chinna Roja Panakkaran Adhisaya Manithan Oru Vithi Oru Vandu Avasara Police 100 Dharmadurai Thevar Magan and Sendhurapandi.
Gautami’s acting caught everyones attention when she featured in Papanasam with Kamal Haasan.
Did you know that Gautami Tadimalla worked in three shifts a day? Yes she did over 120 movies in 8 years and was praised for her dedication. However while her professional life was soaring high her personal life saw its share of troubles.
In 1998 Gautami tied the knot with businessman Sandeep Bhatia. The couple was blessed with a daughter. However just within a year Gautami and Sandeep decided to part ways. In 2005 Gautami again made headlines as her affair with Kamal Haasan garnered public attention. The duo were said to be in a relationship from 2005 to 2016. In 2016 Gautami announced on her blog that she had ended her relationship with him.
Life threw another hurdle at her when at the age of 35 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. However she fought bravely and recovered. Later to help cancer patients like herself she started an organization named Life Again Foundation.
Eventually Gautami bid goodbye to her acting career and joined politics. Earlier she was in the BJP but later she switched to the AIADMK.