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Tanuja Mukherjee Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated September 14, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth23 September 1943

Age81 Years

BirthplaceBombay, Bombay Presidency, British India (now Mumbai, Maharashtra, India)

ProfessionActress

NationalityIndian

Marital statusDivorced

SpouseShomu Mukherjee

FamilyDaughters - Kajol and Tanishaa Mukerji; Parents - Kumarsen Samarth and Shobhana Samarth; Sister - Nutan and others

Tanuja Mukherjee Biography

Veteran Indian actress Tanuja Mukherjee built a versatile career across Hindi, Bengali and Marathi cinema beginning as a child artist. Born into a film‑or‑

Early life and background

Tanuja Mukherjee was born Tanuja Samarth on 23 September 1943 in Bombay, in what was then the Bombay Presidency of British India. She grew up in a family already connected to the film industry: her father worked as a filmmaker and her mother was an actress and director. One of her older sisters, Nutan, became an established film actress as well.

Tanuja attended several schools in India and abroad, including institutions in Mumbai, Panchgani and Switzerland. Financial pressures forced her to leave school in Switzerland at age 16 and return to India; she did not attend college. From an early age she showed an aptitude for languages and an interest in learning beyond formal schooling.

Career

Tanuja’s first screen appearance came as a child artist in her mother’s film Hamari Beti (1950). As she moved into adulthood she took on roles across Hindi, Bengali and Marathi cinema, often choosing parts for their substance rather than for star billing. Her filmography includes Hindi titles such as Chand Aur Suraj (1965), Haathi Mere Saathi (1971), Mohabbat Ki Kasam (1986) and Son of Sardaar (2012). She also worked in notable Bengali films including Deya Neya (1963), Antony Firingee (1967), Teen Bhubaner Paare (1969) and Pratham Kadam Phool (1969), and in Marathi films such as Zaakol (1980), Unad Maina (1988) and Pitruroon (2013).

Tanuja received industry recognition over the decades. Early in her career she won the Bengal Film Journalists Association Award for Best Supporting Actress for Benazir (1964) and later won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for Paisa Ya Pyaar (1969). She earned a Filmfare Awards East Best Actress award for Adalat o Ekti Meye (1982) and received acting honors for her Marathi work, including a Best Actress award at the Life OK Screen Awards for Pitruroon (2013). In 2014 she was presented with lifetime achievement honors by the Producers Guild and Filmfare.

Beyond cinema, Tanuja made her television debut in 1985 with Khandaan on Doordarshan and appeared in other TV projects over the years, including Junoon (1994) and the historical fiction series Aarambh: Kahaani Devsena Ki (2017). She also appeared in mainstream Hindi films in supporting roles in the 2000s, such as Khakee (2004) and Deewaar: Let’s Bring Our Heroes Home, and served as a judge on the reality show Rock-N-Roll Family (2008). In 2022 she appeared in the Amazon Prime anthology Modern Love Mumbai.

Public profile

Tanuja’s personal life has been part of her public narrative. She met filmmaker Shomu Mukherjee on a film set in 1972 and the two married in 1973; they later separated. The couple are parents of two daughters, Kajol and Tanishaa Mukerji, both of whom are actresses. Tanuja is also connected through family ties to several other film industry figures.

She has been open about aspects of her private life in public: she does not believe in the concept of God, and she has publicly acknowledged smoking. In addition to her entertainment career, Tanuja has engaged in civic activity around environmental concerns as part of the Lonavala-Khandala Citizens Forum.

Health and later years

Tanuja has faced health challenges in recent years. In 2019 she was diagnosed with diverticulosis and underwent surgery at Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai. On 17 December 2023 she was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai and observed in the ICU for age-related issues.

Latest updates

In 2022 Tanuja appeared in the web anthology Modern Love Mumbai, playing the role of a household help. Her most recent television work listed in this biography was the 2017 historical series Aarambh: Kahaani Devsena Ki.

Career highlights

Tanuja began as a child artist in 1950 and forged a multi‑decade acting career across Hindi, Bengali and Marathi films. She collected acting awards from regional and national bodies, and received lifetime achievement honors in 2014. Her daughters Kajol and Tanishaa have continued the family’s presence in Indian cinema.
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Recent Work

Modern Love Mumbai

Anthology web series (role: Baai)

2022
Aarambh: Kahaani Devsena Ki

Television series (role: Hahuma)

2017
Pitruroon

Marathi film (award-winning performance)

2013
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Career Highlights

  1. Debut as a child artist in Hamari Beti (1950)
  2. Bengal Film Journalists Association Award for Best Supporting Actress (1964) for Benazir
  3. Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award (1969) for Paisa Ya Pyaar
  4. Filmfare Awards East Best Actress (1982) for Adalat o Ekti Meye
  5. Producers Guild and Filmfare Lifetime Achievement honours (2014)
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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Tanuja Mukherjee born?

23 September 1943

What is Tanuja Mukherjee known for?

Actress

What is Tanuja Mukherjee’s marital status?

Divorced

Who is Tanuja Mukherjee married to?

Shomu Mukherjee