Mamata Shankar (born 7 January 1955) is an actress in the Bengali language film industry of India. She has acted in films by renowned film directors including, Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Rituparno Ghosh, Buddhadev Dasgupta and Gautam Ghosh. In addition to being an actress, she is a dancer and choreographer. She is the daughter of legendary dancers Uday Shankar and Amala Shankar, and the niece of Pandit Ravi Shankar. She made her film debut with Mrigayaa in 1976, directed by Mrinal Sen. The film won the National Film Award for Best Film for the year. Mamata is married to Chandrodoy Ghosh, and runs 'Udayan Mamta Shankar Dance Company' (founded in 1986, and which travels extensively throughout the world), with the 'Mamata Shankar Ballet Troupe'. The troupe was founded in 1978, and performed its first production, based on a Rabindranath Tagore work, Chandalika, in 1979.3, it was followed by Holikhela, Aajker Ekalabya, Milap, Shikhar, Mother Earth, and Amritasyaputra.