Legendary Tamil actress Manorama died at a private hospital in Chennai last night following a heart attack, family sources said. She was 78. She is survived by her son Boopathi.

"She passed away due to heart attack, my world has fallen apart," Boopathi told PTI.

The actress died at around 12.05 am. A versatile actress, Manorama had acted in over 1,200 Tamil films, rubbing shoulders with top stars like MGR and Sivaji Ganesan in a brilliant career spanning over six decades.

She holds a Guinness World Record for acting in more than 1,000 films. Manorama also holds the unique distinction of having been in plays and films with five chief ministers. She played the female lead in the plays written, directed and acted in by former Tamil Nadu chief minister CN Annadurai besides appearing in plays with another chief minister M Karunanidhi.

Affectionately called "Aachi" (mother), she began her career as a stage artiste and acted in several hundreds of dramas.

Born Gopishantha to Kasi Kilakudaiyar and Ramamirtham at Mannargudi in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, she started her acting career on stage at age 12.