46 Facts About Nayanthara

Nayanthara has starred in more than 80 films spanning two decades, and has won numerous awards.

Nayanthara is popularly addressed as the Lady Superstar of Indian cinema.

Nayanthara made her acting debut with the Malayalam film Manassinakkare.

Nayanthara made her debut in Tamil cinema with Ayya and in Telugu cinema with Lakshmi.

Nayanthara is a recipient of five Filmfare Awards South and eight South Indian International Movie Awards.

Nayanthara was born as Diana Mariam Kurian on 18 November 1984 in Bangalore, Karnataka, to Kurian Kodiyattu and Omana Kurian from Kerala.

Nayanthara was spotted by director Sathyan Anthikkad, who had seen some of her modelling assignments and approached her to play a pivotal role in his film Manassinakkare.

Nayanthara then accepted to appear in an item number as herself in the Perarasu-directed masala film Sivakasi.

Nayanthara next made her debut in Telugu, starring in the film Lakshmi, following which she performed in Boss, I Love You.

Nayanthara regained her star status in Kollywood by starring in the Vishnuvardhan-directed gangster film Billa.

Nayanthara won the Asianet Award for Best Actress for her performance in Bodyguard.

Nayanthara's performance was well appreciated by critics when it was screened at the International Film Festival of India.

Nayanthara received high critical acclaim for her performance in the film, with Rediff.

Nayanthara gave a fine understated performance conveying a kaleidoscope of emotions.

Nayanthara portrayed the role of a journalist and her performance was praised, with a reviewer from Sify stating that "Nayanthara does not play the normal commercial glam-doll for a change and she is good" and "her chemistry with Rana is perfect".

Nayanthara's rising popularity as an actress led to her being cast in female-centric films, a genre considered a rarity in South Indian cinema.

Sekhar Kammula cast her in the titular role of his bilingual Anaamika, a remake of the Hindi film Kahaani, in which Nayanthara portrayed an IT professional who moves to Hyderabad to look for her missing husband.

Nayanthara then went on to win her second Filmfare Award for her role of a deaf girl seeking revenge in Vignesh Shivan's black comedy Naanum Rowdy Dhaan.

Nayanthara continued to play diverse roles, appearing as a village-based school teacher in Thirunaal, a spy in the commercially successful Vikram-starrer Iru Mugan and the queen of a fantasy kingdom in Kaashmora.

Nayanthara played the female lead in the action thriller Velaikkaran.

Nayanthara's first release in 2018 was a Telugu-language film Jai Simha in which she played the female lead.

Nayanthara went on to portray the main lead in Nelson Dilipkumar's directorial Kolamaavu Kokila and the thriller Imaikkaa Nodigal alongside actor Atharvaa.

Nayanthara appeared in the Malayalam film Love Action Drama, alongside Nivin Pauly where she attained an equal pay as that of male lead; for the first ever time in Malayalam cinema.

Nayanthara was seen in Telugu biographical film, Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, alongside Chiranjeevi and Tamannaah.

Nayanthara starred in Netrikann, a remake of the 2011 South Korean film Blind.

Nayanthara received critical acclaim for her portrayal of blind Durga CBI in the film.

Nayanthara starred in the Malayalam film Nizhal and the much delayed Telugu film Aaradugula Bullet.

Nayanthara was later seen in the Malayalam film Gold, alongside Prithviraj Sukumaran, in the Telugu film Godfather, the Tamil horror film Connect.

Nayanthara will be seen in the Tamil film Iraivan; for which she will get a remuneration of Rs 10 Crore, making her the only South Indian actress to get a double digit crore remuneration.

Nayanthara will be seen in Bollywood film Jawan opposite Shah Rukh Khan which will mark her Hindi debut.

Nayanthara is set to star two untitled films, tentatively titled as Lady Superstar 75 and NT-81.

Nayanthara was brought up as a Christian to Malayali parents.

Nayanthara is a polydactyl, with a rudimentary finger on her left hand.

Nayanthara is a humanitarian and lends support to a number of social causes.

Nayanthara is a pro Indian culture enthusiast and had participated in the 2017 pro-jallikattu protests in Chennai along with husband Vignesh Shivan.

Nayanthara is about to venture into skincare range with her brand named 9Skin.

Nayanthara is considered among the most popular actor of Tamil and Telugu cinema.

Nayanthara is one of the highest paid actresses in South Indian cinema, according to various media reports.

In March 2022, according to a report by The Times of India, Nayanthara became the highest-paid South Indian actress.

Nayanthara is widely praised for her impactful roles in Sri Rama Rajyam, Raja Rani, Puthiya Niyamam, Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy and much more.

Nayanthara is among the few South Indian actresses who have taken over the male dominated film industry with her strong films.

Kayalvizhi Arivalan of Femina said that Nayanthara made women-centric films "the new norm".

Nandini Ramnath of Vogue stated that Nayanthara is "southern cinema's brightest stars".

Nayanthara received the Kalaimamani award, for her "Contribution in Tamil Cinema", in 2010.

Nayanthara became the only South Indian actress to be featured in the Forbes India "Celebrity 100" list of 2018, with her total annual earning credited at 15.17 crore.

Nayanthara became Chennai Times Most Desirable Woman in 2015 and 2016.