

Poonam Dhillon was born on 18th April, 1962 in Kanpur, in the Punjab province Pakistan. She stepped into the film world by winning the globally recognized Femina Miss India beauty pageant in 1977 at the age of sixteen. Her first movie came in the form of Trishul (1978), which was a successful venture and brought her much recognition from other film world dwellers. She then appeared in the film Noorie (1979), which fetched her a Filmfare award nomination for Best Actress and furthered her quest for recognition. Dhillon's career as an actress is widely acknowledged with just under a hundred films to her credit. Some of her notable works include Red Rose (1980), Dard (1981), Yeh Vaada Raha (1982), Romance (1983) and Sohni Mahiwal (1984). She also did a cameo role for Judaai (1996). Besides Hindi movies, the actress also appeared in regional films such as Nyay Danda (Bengali), Yuddha Kaanda (Kannada) and Ishtam (Telugu). She was last seen in Prabhu Deva's Ramaiya Vastavaiya (2013). Furthermore, she has made TV appearances including Zee TV Africa's Chusth Drusth and was the second runner up on Colors TV show Big Boss Season 4. She has also enacted in the play The Perfect Husband in 2005. She is currently doing Ekk Nayi Pehchaan in Sony TV.
Apart from acting, Dhillon founded the company Vanity - a make-up van business. She also invests a large amount of time towards social work such as AIDS awareness, organ donation and family planning awareness programs. Along with social work, she has also interest in politics, having joined the Congress Party in 2004. She is also doing her MBA in International Business, continuing her education from she left after joining the film industry. This aspect of her life coincides with her on-screen character of studying women who are also juggling family responsibilities in Sony TV's Ekk Nayi Pehchaan, which is currently airing.
In terms of her personal life, Dhillon married filmmaker Ashok Thakeria in 1988 and has two children, Anmol and Paloma. However, the marriage ended with a divorce in 1997.