Leena de Silva

Liyanage Don Leena Piyasili de Silva (; 30 October 1936 – 1 December 2023), popularly referred to as Leena de Silva , was a Sri Lankan actress who worked in Sri Lankan cinema, theatre and television. One of the earliest pillars of Sri Lankan cinema, de Silva contributed many critically acclaimed films of her generation, with a career spanning more than six decades.

Personal life Liyanage Don Leena Piyasili de Silva was born on 30 October 1936 in Maligakanda, Colombo. Her father, Don Simon de Silva worked as a supervisor at Ceylon Cargo Board Company. Her mother was Alice Silva. She had two sisters, Trilicia Kusuma and Merlyn Thilaka and one brother, Jayampath Sam. She completed education from Ananda Balika Vidyalaya, Kotte.

De Silva was married to fellow actor Ravindra Rupasena from 11 November 1960 to his death in 1978. She met Rupasena during her maiden film Ahankara Sthree and then the couple appeared in many films together, including Surathali, Sohoyuro, Sundara Birinda, Suneetha and Nalagana. The couple had one son and one daughter. Her son, Bimal Yoga Sri was born on 13 September 1961, and her daughter Poorna Priyadarshani was born on 1 June 1963. Poorna is a talented lyricist.

Death De Silva died on 1 December 2023, at the age of 87. She was living in Toronto, Ontario, at the time, and had two children.

Career In the English class of school, de Silva played the lead role in the play Pipe Piper Model. It was her first performance on stage. During school times at the age of 12, she learned dancing from renowned dancer and actor Shesha Palihakkara, who introduced Leena on to the cinema screen. Then Cyril P. Abeyratne was looking for an artiste to play the lead female role in his film Surathali in 1956.