Parmeshwar Godrej (16 July 1945 – 10 October 2016) was an Indian

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

and

socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...

, married to Adi Burjorji Godrej, chairman of the

Godrej Group Godrej Enterprises Group (Including Godrej & Boyce and its affiliates) is an Indian conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. G&B was founded in 1897 by Ardeshir Godrej and Pirojsha Burjorji Godrej. The company is known for developing one of th ...

Life

Parmeshwar was born into a

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

family on 16 July 1945, the daughter of an army officer. She was educated at Yadavindra Public School,

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubar ...

. Before marrying marriage to

Adi Godrej Adi Burjorji Godrej (born 3 April 1942) is an Indian billionaire businessman and head of the Godrej family, chairman of the Godrej Group. , he has a net worth of US$3.8 billion. In October 2024, Adi and Nadir Godrej were ranked 21st on Forb ...

, she was a hostess for Air India. They met when she was 17 and he was 21, and married in 1965. They had three children together: two daughters,

Tanya Dubash Tanya Dubash (born 14 September 1968) is an Indian businesswoman, and an executive director and chief brand officer at the Godrej Group, and is known for taking up the responsibility for a rebranding exercise in 2008, Godrej Masterbrand Strate ...

and

Nisa Godrej Nisaba Adi "Nisa" Godrej (born 1978) is an Indian businesswoman, and the chair of Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL). Early life Nisa is the youngest daughter of Adi Godrej and Parmeshwar Godrej. Her siblings are Tanya Dubash and Pirojsha Adi God ...

, and one son,

Pirojsha Adi Godrej Pirojsha Adi Godrej is an Indian industrialist and businessman. He is the executive chairman of Godrej Properties, the real estate development arm of the Godrej Group, of which his father, Adi Godrej, is the chairman. Early life and educati ...

. Godrej designed costumes for actress

Hema Malini Hema Malini Dharmendra Deol (born 16 October 1948; ) is an Indian actress, director, producer, and politician who is currently serving as a member of the Lok Sabha from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), representing Mathura constituency since 2 ...

in the 1975 film ''

Dharmatma ''Dharmatma'' () is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language thriller film produced and directed by Feroz Khan. The cast includes Khan, Hema Malini, Rekha, Premnath, Imtiaz Khan, Danny Denzongpa, Farida Jalal, Ranjeet, Helen, Madan Puri, Jeevan, ...

'' at the request of her good friend Feroz Khan who was the actor, director, and producer of the same film. Frequently described as one of India's leading socialites and philanthropists, she was a close friend of the former cricketer and Prime Minister of Pakistan

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician, philanthropist, and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He was the founder of the political party Pak ...

, a relationship that often attracted media attention. She focused her influence on health issues, and was one of the earliest champions of AIDS and HIV awareness in India. She partnered with actor

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began appearing in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in ''Looking for Mr. Goodbar (film), Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Hea ...

in 2004 to launch the Heroes Project, an anti-AIDS campaign, with strong support from both the

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation The Gates Foundation is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was launched in 2000 and is reported to be List of wealthiest charitable foundations, the third largest char ...

and

Clinton Global Initiative The Clinton Foundation (founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was e ...

. She also sat on the boards of the Gere Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Death

Parmeshwar Godrej died on 10 October 2016 at Breach Candy Hospital at age 71 due to a degenerative lung disease.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Godrej, Parmeshwar Indian billionaires Indian socialites 2016 deaths Godrej family 1945 births