Parmeshwar Godrej was an Indian Philanthropist and Socialite who have held the post of Non-Executive Director of Godrej Properties Limited since 1989. She was the wife of the chairman of Godrej Group, Adi Godrej and has also served as the Director of Indian Hotels and Health Resorts Private Limited and Director of Gates Foundation - Avahan, The Gene Foundation, Cine Blitz Publications and the Palace School, Jaipur. She also held the Member of India Advisory Board of The American India Foundation.
Parmeshwar Godrej was born in a Sikh family and was the daughter of an army officer. She was 17 and working as an air hostess with Air India when she met Adi Godrej who was 21. The duo got married in the year 1965 and they have three daughters Tanya, Dubash and Nisa Godrej and a son Pirojsha. The daughters are currently associated with the flagship Godrej company in the consumer products whereas their son leads the group's listed realty arm. She is also known as a style icon and was considered as the face of modern Indian glamour and is known to be the backbone of Adi Godrej.
Parmeshwar Godrej has played a key role in many social causes and was an important face for the launch campaigns of Godrej causes. She was also known for her campaigns for causes like HIV/AIDS care remand homes and her support to the street kid Sanjay. She helped many people and organizations by empowering them and played a vital role in helping Michael Kadoorie in launching the Sir Elly Kadoorie School in Mazgaon, Mumbai for the poor. Being a socialite and associated with one of the biggest industrial houses of the country was effectively used by her who often invited various business heads to support the many social causes. Her campaign for HIV received support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, the Clintons and many other American Business families. A gracious hostess, she had a huge social circle which included all the high profile personalities belonging not only to India but around the globe. One such example of her social circle influence was when American talk show host Oprah Wifney chose her to organize a welcome party in India in 2012 and she organized a welcome party that included all the top personalities of business and Bollywood. The party was attended by the Ambani Brothers, the Bollywood Khans, Bachchans as the guest.
She was also an interior designer and many homes in Mumbai, Delhi and London have been refashioned by her. The list also includes many iconic restaurants that include Khyber and China Garden. On the request of her good friend and the director and producer Feroz Khan she also designed costumes and looks for Hema Malini for the 1975 release film Dharmatma. Later in the year 2000 she teamed up with director Shekhar Kapoor to launch a production house titled Starlight after co-producing the Merchant - Ivory Production 'The Perfect Murder' in 1988. When Pakistani cricketer, Imran Khan, captured the imagination of a cricket-crazy Indian public way back in the late 1970s, industrialist Parmeshwar Godrej was the socialite who introduced the dashing cricketer to the elite in Mumbai. After frequent problems of degenerative lung disease, she was admitted to Breach Candy hospital where she died on 10th October 2016 while undergoing the treatment. She was aged 70.
