Reena Roy Age, Husband, Children, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Birth name	Saira Ali [1]Mid-Day
Other Name	Roopa Rai Note: She was renamed from Saira Ali to Roopa Rai by her mother, which she discontinued after she got the screen name Reena Roy.
Profession	Actor
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 163 cm in meters- 1.63 m in feet & inches- 5’ 4”
Eye Colour	Brown
Hair Colour	Brown
Career
Debut	Film: Zaroorat (1972) as Anju TV: Eena Meena Deeka (2015), aired on DD Metro and Star Plus
Awards	Filmfare Awards • 1977: Nominated for Best Actress for the Hindi film Nagin • 1979: Won Best Supporting Actress for the Hindi film Apnapan • 1981: Nominated for Best Actress for the Hindi film Aasha • 1998: Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award
Personal Life
Date of Birth	7 January 1957 (Monday)
Age (as of 2024)	67 Years
Birthplace	Bombay (now Mumbai), India
Zodiac sign	Capricorn
Signature
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Mumbai
Educational Qualification	School Dropout [2]The Economic Times
Religion	Half Muslim (from her father’s side) and half Punjabi Hindu (from her mother’s side) [3]Mid-Day
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Divorced
Affairs/Boyfriends	• Shatrughan Sinha (actor, politician) • Vinod Khanna (actor; rumoured)
Marriage Date	Second Marriage- Year, 1983
Family
Husband/Spouse	First Husband- Amin Hajee (actor; rumoured) Second Husband- Mohsin Khan (Pakistani cricketer; divorced 1990)
Children	Son- None Daughter- Sanam Khan (earlier Jannat; from her second husband)
Parents	Father- Sadiq Ali (actor and part-time junior artist supplier) Mother- Sharda Rai (actor and film producer)
Siblings	She has one elder brother and two younger sisters. After her father disowned them all, her mother renamed her brother Yaseen Hussain to Raja (film producer), her sister Bilquees to Barkha (film producer), and Firdaus to Anjali (actor).
Favourites
Actor(s)	Jeetendra, Anil Kapoor
Actress(es)	Madhubala, Meena Kumari
Singer	Mohammed Rafi
Food	Pav Bhaji, Modak
Colour	Black, Red
Travel Destination(s)	Goa, Kashmir, London

Some Lesser Known Facts About Reena Roy

• Reena Roy is an Indian actress, who worked in many popular Hindi films like ‘Nagin’ (1976). She was once one of the highest-earning actresses in Bollywood. ^[4]The Economic Times

• In her childhood, she was a tomboy. ^[5]The Times of India

• She started her career as a model in 1970. She was once featured in a TV commercial for Lux Soap.
  

  Reena Roy in a print ad of Lux

• In the initial years of her acting career, she acted in various Hindi films such as ‘Jaise Ko Taisa’ (1973), ‘Umar Qaid’ (1975), ‘Zakhmee’ (1975), and ‘Barood’ (1976) which failed to do well at the box office.
  

  Barood

• At the beginning of her career, she did not know dancing. Some media sources shared that she was so bad at dancing that she used to make her co-stars fall on the ground. Later, she trained under various dance teachers.

• In 1976, she played the lead role in the Hindi film ‘Nagin,’ which became a breakthrough in her career. There were rumours that the two actresses in the film Reena and Rekha did not share a good bond on the sets of the film. It is said that when Rekha came to know that in the film Reena’s outfits were more expensive than Rekha’s, she got very upset. Rekha immediately asked the director of the film to change her (Rekha’s) outfit. Even after discussion, Rekha did not agree to continue to work in the film until her outfits were replaced with expensive outfits. Later, the director and producer agreed to it. ^[6]Zee News
  

  A still of Reena Roy and Rekha in Nagin

• In around 22 Hindi films, she was paired with the Indian actor Jeetendra. Some of such films are ‘Badaltey Rishtey’ (1978), ‘Pyaasa Sawan’ (1982), ‘Apnapan’ (1977), ‘Aasha’ (1980), and ‘Arpan’ (1983).
  

  A still of Reena Roy with Jeetendra from the film Arpan

• She then acted in a few Punjabi films such as ‘Sat Sri Akal’ (1977) and ‘Walayati Babu’ (1981).
  

  Walayati Babu

• In the 1983 Hindi film ‘Nastik,’ she was selected for the female lead. However, she was replaced by Hema Malini.

• In 1991, she worked as a producer in the Hindi film ‘Gunehgar Kaun.’

• When she was 19 years old, she worked with the Indian actor Shatrughan Sinha for the first time. Despite their age gap of 11 years, their friendship turned into love. However, Reena’s mother was not happy with her relationship with an elder man and warned her to end her relationship with Sinha. Later, amid the rumours of their marriage, Sinha gave a shock to his fans by tying the knot to the Indian model and actor Poonam. Even after this, Reena continued her relationship with Sinha. Poonam never went vocal about her husband’s extramarital affair and often passed insulting comments about Reena and Sinha’s relationship. ^[7]India Today In an interview, Poonam said that,
  

  Gradually, Reena also realised that her dream of marrying Sinha would never come true. Also, she was fed up with being a second choice of Sinha. Eventually, she decided to distance herself from him.”

• After a few years of her marriage to the Pakistani cricketer Mohsin Khan, she decided to part ways with him as she was not able to adjust to his lavish lifestyle. She said that she felt very lonely as her husband used to stay away from home for his matches. Her husband even wanted her to apply for British citizenship. However, she was not happy with her marriage and took a divorce from him. The custody of their daughter was given to Mohsin Khan.

• After a break of around five years from Bollywood, she appeared in the 1993 film ‘Aadmi Khilona Hai.’ The film failed to do well at the box office.

• She then acted in a few more Hindi films like ‘Policewala Gunda’ (1995), ‘Kalyug Ke Avtaar’ (1995), ‘Smuggler’ (1996), and ‘Gair’ (1999). In 2000, after appearing in the Hindi film ‘Refugee’ (2000), she quit the Hindi films.

• Reena started her acting school in 2004 along with her sister.

• She has also appeared in a few Hindi TV serials like ‘Rani Mahal’ (2015) which aired on Sony.

• In an interview, she shared that in her younger days, she was a huge fan of the Indian actor Rajesh Khanna. She waited for eight years to get a role in the film with Rajesh Khanna. She said that she was one of the girls who used to wait outside Rajesh’s home to get a glimpse of him. ^[8]The Economic Times
  

  Reena Roy with Rajesh Khanna

• When she was young, she was fond of riding horses and travelling to different places on her motorcycle.
  

  Reena Roy with a motorcycle

• She was paired in around 16 Hindi films with the Indian actor Shatrughan Sinha.

• Reena has been featured on the cover of various magazines such as Cine Blitz, Filmfare, Madhuri, and Rangbhoomi.
  

  Reena Roy featured on Filmfare magazine

• Various media house often compares her looks with the Indian actor Sonakshi Sinha, daughter of her ex-boyfriend Shatrughan Sinha. In an interview, while talking about it, Reena Roy said that Sonakshi looked like her mother Poonam Sinha and not her. She said,
  

  I think Salman Khan’s family has given a very typical Indian look that resembles my look on screen. When I did Zakhmee, I was called Asha Parekh and Nasir Hussain’s daughter. Dimple was referred to as Nargis’s daughter. Film industry mein toh yeh silsila chalte rehta hai. Kuch din baad khatam ho jaata hai.”

  

  A collage of Sonakshi Sinha and Reena Roy

• In 2004, the rumours of her joining the Indian National Congress started after she campaigned for the party.

• In July 2021, a special episode on her was made by the reality show ‘Indian Idol Season 12.’ She was invited as a special guest in the show.

• Reportedly, when she was at the peak of her career, she received letters from her fans which were written in blood. ^[9]The Times of India