Florence Ezekiel, known by her stage name Nadira, was an Indian actress who worked in the Hindi film industry, usually playing "vamp" or femme fatale roles in the 1950s and 60s.  

Nadira was born on December 5, 1932, in Baghdad into a Baghdadi Jewish family. She had two brothers. As a baby, her family moved to Bombay (present-day Mumbai) in search of business opportunities. At the time, the city had a strong Jewish community, many of them Baghdadi Jews who had moved for trade or mercantile business.  

Nadira's first film appearance was at the age of about eleven in the 1943 Hindi-language film Mauj.  She entered the film industry by chance, and her career decision surprised many of those around her. Initially, she had intended to convert to Catholicism and become a nun. Aside from attending Catholic school, she learned shorthand and typing at the Bombay YMCA, and she later aspired to become a doctor. However, her family faced financial challenges, and so Nadira accepted a job as an actress.  

Thanks to Sardar Akhtar, actress and wife of director Mehboob Khan, Nadira was cast in the 1952 film Aan. Akhtar also gave Nadira her stage name (stage names for actresses, regardless of religious background, were common at the time). In this film, she played her breakout role of a Rajput princess, elevating her to cinematic prominence. Following this role, she starred in many films, including Shree 420 (1955), Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai (1960), Prakeezah (1972), Hanste Zakhm (1973), and Amar Akbar Antony (1977). In these films, she was often cast as a "vamp" or temptress. In 1976, she won a Filmfare Award for best supporting actress for her role in Julie (1975).  She continued to act throughout the 1980s and 1990s, though playing mostly supporting characters. During her career, she was one of the highest-paid Indian actresses.  

Nadira lived out her final years in Mumbai until she died on February 9, 2006, following a prolonged illness.  

Sources 

Mukherjee, Manjari. "Jewish Actresses in Bollywood." Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women. 16 June 2023. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on August 26, 2024); https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/jewish-actresses-bollywood.  

“Nadira (Indian Actress).” Wikipedia, April 21, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadira_(Indian_actress).