Savitri was born in Chinaravuru near Tenali in Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, India to Nissankara Rao Guruviah and Subhadramma. She learned music and Indian classical dance under Sista Purnayya Sasthri. She performed stage shows during her childhood. She acted in 318 films in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Hindi languages, with ten to twenty movies released per year.
She later directed some films. One day she went to meet the Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and donated all her jewelry she was wearing for the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. She also built a high school in Andhra. Her favorite sports were cricket and chess. She used to play chess at home. She claimed that her favorite sports person was Gary Sobers. She participated in many celebrity cricket matches.
Savitri was a legendary actress in Tamil. She has paired opposite leading actors like Sivaji Ganesan and M.G.R. She married Gemini Ganesh, while acting in ‘Manam Pola Mangalyam’(1953) with him. Savithri's 100th film ‘Konjum Salangai’ (‘Muripinche Muvvalu’ in Telugu) also happened to be paired with Gemini Ganeshan. She was fondly called 'Nadigaiyar Thilagam' in the Tamil film industry.
Kalathur Kannamma, Kai Kodutha Deivam, Thiruvilaiyadal, Navarathiri, Pasa Malar, Yaar Paiyyan, Paarthal Pasi Theerum, Padithal Mattum Podhuma, Karpagam, Karnan and Paava Mannippu are some of her memorable classics in Tamil. Savitri secretly married Gemini Ganesan in 1954 and she declared it publicly three years after the wedding. Gemini Ganesan and Savitri made a hit pair on-screen. Her wedding was revealed when she signed in a photo for a Lux advertisement as Savithri Ganesh. They had two children Vijaya Chamundeswari and Sathish Kumar. Savitri was a strict, disciplined and compassionate mother. Since there was no availability of televisions at that time, she arranged a 16mm projector to show movies to kids. She would watch Hollywood movies and analyze them thoroughly. She loved Sophia Loren and Shirley MacLaine. She died at an early age of 44.
She got National Award for Best Actress in 1960 for her performance in the movie Chivaraku Migiledi. The movie was the Telugu remake of Deep Jele Jai (1959), a Bengali classic starring Suchitra Sen. The movie also got remade in Hindi later in 1969 as Khamoshi with Waheeda Rehman enacting the lead role. She was crowned with title Nadigayar Thilakam (Greatest Actress) for her fine performances in Tamil. She was awarded with the title Kalaimamani by the Tamil Nadu State Government, Nati Siromani by the Andhra Yuvathi Mandali and with an apt title as Mahanati.