Shobha Rajadhyaksha, known in the media by her married named Shobha De, is a popular Indian English literary novels author, news columnist and a socialite who started her career in the capacity of a model. De has authored several books, most of which depict the life of socialite and have sex as one of its main themes, which have earned her the title of being the “Jackie Collins of India”. She also appears on several news channel show debates and is the author of her blog ‘Politically Incorrect’ that she writes for ‘The Times of India’.
Although prominently known as a novelist, De served as a screen writer for the popular Indian television soap operas ‘Shanti’ and ‘Swabhiman’ that aired on Doordarshan (DD) Network. De is one of the most popular yet controversial literary figures in Indian. In the recent years, De has been a subject of media scrutiny owing to her harsh opinions and comments that she delivers via her blogs and her social networking sites, especially twitter on which she has a massive following.
Early Life and Education
Born as Shobha Rajadhyaksha on 7 January 1948 in Satara, Satara District, Bombay Province, India, (present day Maharashtra) as the daughter of Saraswat Brahmin Hindu parents who raised her in Girgaon, Mumbai, India. Grew grew up with her three siblings, a brother named Ashok Rajadhyaksha and two sisters, Kunda and Mandakini Rajadhyaksha.
De attended Queen Mary School in Mumbai, Maharashtra from where she completed her primary, secondary and matriculation education. She later enrolled into St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, from where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts with Psychology Specials. Soon after graduation, De embarked upon a caree in modelling along with veteran actress Zeenat Aman.
Career Rise
De started her career as a model but soon became interested in journalism, a career she embarked upon in 1970. As a journalist, De served as the founder of the magazines ‘Society’ and ‘Celebrity’. De served as an editor of the popular film magazine ‘Stardust’, founded in 1971 by Nari Hira with Magna Publishing Co. Ltd. as its publisher. During her time as the magazine’s editor, ‘Stardust’ became one of India’s most popular film magazines. Throughout the 1980’s, De served as a columnist for The Times of India’s Sunday Magazine section in which she wrote articles on the lifestyle of celebrities and socialites in Mumbai.
De serves as a freelance columnist and contributes articles to weekly and fortnightly columns for mainstream newspapers such as ‘Asian Age’, ‘The Times of India’ and ‘The Week’. Additionally, she has also worked as a screen-writer for two of India’s most popular television soap-operas; the cult-classic shows, ‘Shanti’ and ‘Swabhiman’. Some of De’s best-selling books include ‘Socialite Evenings’, ‘Starry Nights’, ‘Sultry Days’, ‘Snapshots’, ‘Strange Obsession’, ‘Surviving Men’, ‘Superstar India’, ‘Bollywood Nights’ etc.
Shobhaa De – Husband
De has been married twice. De was first married to Sudhir Kilachand. The couple became parents to two children, a son named Aditya and a daughter named Avantika Kilachand. However, the couple divorced after a few years of marriage.
De then started dating Dilip De whom she eventually married in 1984. The couple have been together ever since and have two children between them, daughters named Arundhati and Anandita.
Net Worth
The controversial writer has been working since the 70s and has an illustrious amount of work to her credit. Her net worth is an estimated $2 million.
