Rekha was born in Chennai (then Madras) to Tamil actor Gemini Ganesan and Telugu actress Pushpavalli. Her father enjoyed considerable success as an actor and Rekha was to follow in his footsteps.
Her parents were not married, and her father did not acknowledge his paternity during her childhood. It was in early 1970s, when she was looking for a footing in Bollywood, that she revealed her origins. Later, at the peak of her career, Rekha told a magazine interviewer that her father's neglect still rankled and that she had ignored his efforts at reconciliation.
Rekha appeared as a child actress in the Telugu film Rangula Ratnam (1966). Rekha made her debut as heroine in the successful Kannada film Goa dalli CID 999 with Rajkumar in 1969. In that same year, she starred in her first Hindi film, Anjana Safar (later retitled Do Shikari). She later claimed that she was tricked into a kissing scene with the leading actor Biswajit for the overseas market, and the kiss made it to the Asian edition of "Life" magazine. The film ran into censorship problems, and would not be released until a decade later. She had two films released in 1970: the Telugu film Amma Kosam and the Hindi film Sawan Bhadon, which was considered her acting debut in Bollywood. She had to learn Hindi language, as her naturally spoken language was Telugu. Sawan Bhadon became a hit, and Rekha — a star overnight. Despite the success of her films, she was often scorned for her looks. She subsequently got several offers but nothing of substance. Her roles were mostly just of a glamour girl. She appeared in several commercially successful films at the time, including Kahani Kismat Ki, Raampur Ka Lakshman and Pran Jaaye Par Vachan Na Jaaye, yet she was not regarded for her acting abilities. Rekha recalls, "I was called the ‘Ugly Duckling’ of Hindi films because of my dark complexion and South Indian features. I used to feel deeply hurt when people compared me with the leading heroines of the time and said I was no match for them. I was determined to make it big on sheer merit."
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