Lata Mangeshkar ([ləˈt̪aː məŋˈɡeːʃkər] (listen); born Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is considered to be the most celebrated singer in independent India and one of its most influential artists. Her voice was one of the unifying elements of the peoples of South Asia across borders. Her contribution to the Indian music industry in a career spanning eight decades gained her honorific titles such as the "Queen of Melody", "Nightingale of India", and "Voice of the Millennium".

Mangeshkar recorded songs in over thirty-six Indian languages and a few foreign languages, though primarily in Hindi and her mother tongue Marathi. She received several accolades and honors throughout her career. In 1989, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award was bestowed on her by the Government of India. In 2001, in recognition of her contributions to the nation, she was awarded the Bharat Ratna, one of only three singers to receive India's highest civilian honour. In 2007, France made her an Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour, the country's highest civilian award.

She was the recipient of three National Film Awards, 15 Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards, four Filmfare Best Female Playback Awards, before declining further ones, two Filmfare Special Awards, the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award amongst others. In 1974, she became the first Indian playback singer to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England.

She appeared in the Guinness World Records as the most recorded artist in history before being replaced by her sister, Asha Bhosle.