Jayathilake Arachchige Florida Cooray (1936–2007 as ෆ්ලොරිඩා ජයලත්) inhala, popularly as Florida Jayalath, was an

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

in Sri Lankan cinema. Apart from acting, Florida also worked as a filmmaker, choreographer and a film producer. She is the first female filmmaker in Sinhala film industry.

Personal life

Florida was born on 1936 in Marawila as the fourth child of the family. Her father was D. K. Jayalath and mother was Merry Gald Jayalath. She completed education from Holy Family Convent, Marawila. She has two elder sisters, Josapin Jayalath and Srima Murial Jayalath. Josapin was a dramatist at the Minerva Drama Team. Florida died in April 2007 at the age of 71. At the time of demise, she was in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia with her daughter.

Career

Florida made her film debut with a minor role in the 1951 film ''Segawunu Pilithura''. Then in 1953, she made a major role in the film ''Sujatha'' with the titular character. The film was a blockbuster of that year and Florida became a sensation among the people. She appeared in many popular movies in the coming years such as ''Sada Sulang'', ''Daruwa Kageda'' and ''Heta Pramada Wadi''. In the film ''Seda Sulang'', Indian playback singer

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar (; born Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. He ...

played the background song ''Sri Lanka Ma Priyadara'' for Florida. Her last film appearance came through 1966 film ''Sudu Duwa''. In 1965, she directed and produced the film ''Sweep Ticket'' along with Raja Joshua. This is the first time a woman in Sinhala cinema has directed a feature film.

Filmography

References

External links

First Sri Lankan film that ban in screening
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jayalath, Florida 2007 deaths Sri Lankan film actresses Sinhalese artists 1936 births