Today there are many educated actors in Bollywood. In the pursuit of name and fame some gave up engineering jobs while some distanced themselves from professions like medicine. These include Jitendra Kumar of the Panchayat series to Ameesha Patel. But do you know about the first graduate actress of Bollywood? This actress who came from a rich family became a part of that era of Hindi cinema when cinema was becoming a medium of change. Who was Bollywoods first graduate actress? We are talking about Leela Chitnis who was the most educated actress of her time and the first graduate actress of Hindi cinema. She played many great characters in the Golden Era of Hindi cinema and worked with stars like Raj Kapoor and Ashok Kumar. Leela Chitnis was a graduate in arts Talking about Leela Chitnis the actress born on 9 September 1909 had a bachelors degree in arts that too in those days when women did not have the freedom to study. She was born in a Marathi family. Her father was an English professor due to which the importance of education was explained to her since childhood. Leela did her BA degree and became the wife of the well-known doctor Gajanan Yashwant Chitnis. Rift in the relationship with husband Gajanan Yashwant Chitnis was a famous doctor. After marriage Leela gave birth to four sons but gradually her relationship with husband Gajanan started to crack. Eventually Leela decided to separate from her husband and took a divorce and took the responsibility of her children on her shoulders. She raised her sons alone. Initially she was working as a teacher but then gradually she turned to films. Started with small roles Leela Chitnis started her film career with small roles sometimes even playing the role of an extra because she had to run her house and raise her sons. She would do whatever role came her way. But Gentleman Daku released in 1937 changed the direction of her career. In this film she surprised everyone with her acting. After this she appeared in films like Azad Kangan Bandhan Jhoola and Bombay Talkies. Later she also played the role of Dilip Kumars mother in Shaheed and also became known for playing mothers roles on screen. The last days were painful For Leela Chitnis the last days of her life were full of pain and challenges. Despite having four sons her last days were spent in loneliness. She never changed herself for popularity which was both her strength and weakness. In her last years she lived in an old age home in America and breathed her last on 14 July 2003 in the darkness of anonymity away from the country. Story Highlights Leela Chitnis born in 1909 was the first graduate actress of Bollywood with a BA degree in Arts. She separated from her doctor husband raised four sons alone and entered films to support her family. Her breakthrough came with Gentleman Daku (1937) later working with Raj Kapoor Ashok Kumar and Dilip Kumar. Despite fame her last days were spent in loneliness at an old-age home in the US where she passed away in 2003.