Upeksha Swarnamali
| Honourable Upeksha Swarnamali MP | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Gampaha Electoral District | |
|
In office 08 April 2010 – 17 August 2015 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
June 26, 1984 Kuwait |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Political party | United National Party |
| Other political affiliations | United People's Freedom Alliance |
| Spouse(s) | Mahesh Chaminda Walawgamage (divorced) |
| Relations | Akalanka Ganegama |
| Parents | Nirmalee de Silva Swarnamali |
| Residence | Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Model, actress |
| Religion | Catholic (formerly), Buddhism |
Upeksha Swarnamali (Sinhalese: උපේක්ෂා ස්වර්ණමාලි), also known as Swarnamali, is a Sri Lankan model, actress, politician and a former Member of Parliament of Sri Lanka. She gained popularity for her role on the television series PABA broadcast on I T N.[1]
Early life
Born in Kuwait to Sri Lankan parents where she lived for 20 years before returning to Sri Lanka in 2004. She has studied at Indian International School, Kuwait and holds a Diploma in Dancing.[2] She have a mother named Nirmalee Swarnamali.
Acting
Starting her career as a model, she appeared on several song videos including "Chanchala", and took a major role in the television drama series "PABA". She also participated in the reality dancing show Sirasa Dancing Stars, on 8 June 2008 she was eliminated. She had won the Sumathi Award for Best Upcoming Actress Award for Most popular actress sponsored by Vendol.
Politics
She gained national attention due to the controversial removal from the Paba teledrama aired by State run ITN, due to what she claimed as her open support for then opposition presidential candidate (General Sarath Fonseka).
She was elected as a member of the Sri Lanka Parliament in the 2010 General Elections held on 8 April 2010 representing the United National Party having obtained 813500 preferential votes being the second from Gampaha District UNP list.[3] In June 2010, she steered controversy over an interview she gave on Derana TV. The interview caused great embarrassment to herself as well as the Sri Lankan public. Later she admitted that she lacked political knowledge and had no knowledge about Sri Lankan constitution.[4]
She supported the governing United People's Freedom Alliance voting for the 18th amendment to the constitution and crossing over.[5]
Appearance in reality show Mega Star
She took part as a contestant in the Mega Star reality program organized by Swarnavahini, a leading TV broadcast station of Sri Lanka. She made it to the 4 finalists and voted the 4th in the Mega Star finals. [6]
Monitoring Minister
MP Upeksha Swarnamali was appointed Monitoring Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare by President Mahinda Rajapaksa from 2014.
References
- ↑ Be prepared to welcome Paba Daily Mirror, July 10, 2007
- ↑ "New faces in Parliament" (PDF). sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
- ↑ I support SF willingly: Upeksha
- ↑ "Upeksha Swarnamali Talking About Her Knowledge Video by Derana TV | Upeksha admits that she lacks political knowledge". lankachannel.lk. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
- ↑
- ↑ "The Island". island.lk. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
External links
- Parliament profile
- Sri Lanka Sinhala Films Database - Upeksha Swarnamali
- Upeksha Swarnamali Photo Gallery
- Upeksha Swarnamali on SLMDb
- Watch Upeksha Swarnamali's teledrama 'Sneha' on pivithuru TV.
