Poonam Dhillon won the title of “Miss India” in 1977. She was spotted by Yash Chopra who cast her in a romantic role in his multi-starrer Trishul in 1978. her performance mesmerized Yash Chopra who next  pffered her the title role in Noorie in 1979. the film turned out to be a huge hit andwon Poonam a Filmfare nomination in the Best Actress  category. She became one of the most sought after heroine of the late seventies and the early eighties. Her sparkling eyes, silky tresses and blooming visage captivated the hearts of millions. She went on to act in over 90 Hindi films. Some of her notable performances include Sohni Mahiwal, Red Rose, Teri Kasam, Dard, Nishana, Yeh Vada Raha, Samundar, Sitamgar and so on. In 1996 she made a brief guest appearance in Boney Kapoor’s Judaii at the producer’s request. She even tried her hand in films made in the regional languages, like Nyay Danda in Bengali, Yudha Kanda in Kannada and Ishtam in Telugu.

Poonam ventured into Hindi theatre with the comedy “The Perfect Husband”, which won a award and ran to packed houses to complete its Golden Jubilee. She pioneered the business of make-up vans in India and runs a successful company “Vanity”. She was also one of the first actresses to start her own website. She actively works on a number of social causes like drug abuse, AIDS awareness, Family planning, Organ donation and the like. Poonam is also at the helm of an events management organization.

In 1988 Poonam married film maker Ashok Thakeria and had two children, a son named Anmol and a daughter called Paloma. Unfortunately the marriage broke up and resulted in a divorce.