Veteran actor G Vijaya Nirmala passed away on Thursday at 73.  The director-actor was admitted to Continental Hospital, Gachibowli.  She is survived by her husband and hero of yesteryears Krishna.

Born in Tamil Nadu, Nirmala debuted at the age of seven as a child artiste in a Tamil movie Machcha Rekhai (1950).

She directed 44 films in Telugu. In 2002, she entered the Guinness Book of Records as the female director of the most number of films. She also received the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award for her contributions to Telugu cinema in 2008.

She debuted in the Telugu industry in the film Rangula Ratnam. Nirmala had a son, Naresh, from her marriage to Krishna Murthy. She later married actor Krishna, who was the father of five children from his earlier marriage, including superstar Mahesh Babu.

Nirmala went on to play lead roles in films including Alluri Seetharama Raju, Poola Rangadu, Bangaru Gajulu, Mosagallaku Mosagadu, Thatha Manuvadu, Engaveettu Penn, Panama Paasama, En Annan, Gnanaoli, Uyira Maanama, Bhargavi Nilayam and Udhyogastha.