Pearl Padamsee (1931–2000) was an Indian theatre personality as a stage actress, director and producer of English language theatre in Mumbai active in 1950s–1990s.
She also acted a few Hindi and English language films. She performed in at least ten films including Khatta Meetha, Junoon (1978 film), Baaton Baaton Mein, Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love, and Such a Long Journey.
Her after-school theatre workshops for children influenced the lives of many, even those who did not later go into the performing arts.
Personal life
Padamsee was the daughter of an Indian Jewish mother and a Christian father. Married first to a Bengali Hindu, then to a well-known Muslim personality, Pearl became the ambassador to Australia and promoted the “English theatre” in Bombay. With Alyque Padamsee, she had a daughter Raell Padamsee, who runs her own theatre company in Mumbai. She also had two children from an earlier marriage, one of them, Ranjit Chowdhry, is an actor. She converted to Christianity during the initial years of her life and is buried at a Christian Cemetery in Bandra.