Pearl Peters (30 March 1915 – 19 June 1987 as
පර්ල් වාසුදේවි)
inhala, popularly known as Pearl Vasudevi, 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 as well as a singer.
Personal life
Vasudevi was born as Pearl Peters in
Galle
Galle (, ; , ) (formerly ) is a major city on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, south of Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and is the capital of Galle District.
Galle was known as ''Gi ...
on March 30, 1915, to a Burgher family.
She studied at the
Good Shepherd Convent, Colombo and became interested in theater at a young age.
She was married to fellow actor
Eddie Junior. The couple has one daughter, Sujeewa Lalee. Sujeewa also acted in few films including maiden acting in ''Sithijaya''. Vasudevi died 19 June 1987 at the age of 72 following a brief illness.
Career
Vasudevi made her debut as an actress in 1930 playing the role of a princess in the play ''Aparikshakari Nadu Theenduwa'' at the age of 15. With her fluency in English, she also secured a leading role in an adaption of ''
Merchant of Venice
''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...
''.
Vasudevi joined Eddie Master's troupe shortly after acting in the role of Seetha in ''Ramayanaya''. The dramatist's son Eddie Junior composed the music for the play. Through their work together, Pearl and Eddie Junior fell in love and got married in 1940.
She also served as a Radio Ceylon singer at
Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation
The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) (, ''Shrī Lankā Guvan Viduli Sansthāva'', , ''Ilangkai Oliparappuk Kūṭṭuttāpaṉam'') came into existence on 5 January 1967 when Radio Ceylon became a public corporation. Dudley Senanayak ...
(SLBC).
Vasudevi made her film debut with husband Eddie Junior in
Sirisena Wimalaweera's 1949 movie ''
Amma
Amma or AMMA may refer to:
Acronym
* Amhara Mass Media Agency (created in 1993), a media organisation in Amhara Region in Ethiopia
* All Malaysia Malayalee Association
* American Mask Manufacturers Association
* American Medical Marijuana Assoc ...
''.
She subsequently appeared in over 150 films including ''Sithijaya'' with her daughter Sujeewa Lalee.
Filmography
References
External links
Pearl Vasudevi's Biography in Sinhala Cinema Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasudevi, Pearl
1915 births
1987 deaths
Sri Lankan film actresses
People from Galle
20th-century Sri Lankan actresses