Jayaram Jayalalithaa, the hugely popular south Indian actress who later turned to politics and became the highest elected official in the state of Tamil Nadu, has died at the age of 68.
The Apollo Hospital in the southern Indian city of Chennai said Jayalalithaa died on Monday night after undergoing surgery following a heart attack hours earlier.
Known by her followers as "Amma", which means "Mother" in the Tamil language, Jayalalithaa inspired intense loyalty among film fans and political supporters alike.
As news of her death spread, thousands of people thronged the road long past midnight, waiting for her body to be taken from the hospital to her home. Many in the crowds wept.
The Tamil Nadu government declared a seven-day mourning period beginning on Tuesday.
Supporters of India's Tamil Nadu state Chief Minister Jayaram Jayalalithaa cry as they watch the ambulance carrying the body of Jayalalithaa outside a hospital. Source: AP
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was "deeply saddened" by Jayalalithaa's death. "Her demise has left a huge void in Indian politics," Modi tweeted.
Jayalalithaa was 13 when she began her film career and quickly became known as a romantic lead in many of the nearly 150 Tamil-language movies that she worked on.
She entered politics in the early 1980s, under the guidance of Ramachandran. Soon after his death in 1987, she declared herself his political heir and took control of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam party.
She served as Tamil Nadu's chief minister, the highest elected position in the state of 71 million people, for nearly 14 years over five terms beginning in 1991.
She regained her office last year after a corruption case against her was overturned.
She herself was known for leading an extravagant lifestyle. In 1997, police found more than 10,000 saris and 750 pairs of shoes after raiding her home as part of a corruption investigation.
Jayalalithaa was born in 1948 in the village of Melukote, in what is now the state of Karnataka. Her birth name was Jayalalitha, but she reportedly added an "a" on advice from a numerologist.
Her lawyer father, also named Jayaram, died when she was two, prompting her mother to learn shorthand and typing so she could work in a clerical position to support the family and put Jayalalithaa and her brother through school. Her brother died in the early 1990s.
