chandrika studied at saint bridgets convent in colombo. while her mother was head of government, chandrika was the chairwoman of the national estate development board. in 1977 she was married to the movie actor, vijaya kumaranatunga. they had two children together: yasodara and vimukthi. in 1984, her husband formed a new political party, the sri lanka mahajana party. chandrika became an active member of it. she left the country in 1988 immediately after the murder of her husband. she returned in 1992 and joined the sri lanka freedom party.