Nayantara

Nayantara

Nayantara was born in Bangalore, Karnataka on 18 November 1984 as Diana Mariam Kurian. to Malayali Syrian Christian parents, Kurian Kodiyattu and Omana Kurian. Her brother, Leno, who is nine years elder to her, lives in Dubai. As her father was an Indian Air Force official, she studied in various parts of India, mainly in North India. She did her schooling in Chennai, Jamnagar, Gujarat and Delhi. Following his retirement, they settled in Kerala, where she continued her college studies, at the Kendriya Vidyalaya schools in Kerala. In Tiruvalla, she studied at Balikamadom Girls Higher Secondary School and then attended Marthoma College for her bachelor's degree in English Literature. She has said that she would have become a chartered accountant if not an actress.

She is an Indian film actress, who appears in South Indian films. She made her acting debut in the 2003 Malayalam filmManassinakkare and followed with the successful Vismayathumbathu (2004) before foraying into Tamil and Telugu cinema.

She made her debut into Tamil cinema with Ayya (2005), and went on to appear in the commercially successful Ghajini (2005), while Chandramukhi (2005) and Billa (2007), in particular, were the most successful Tamil films making Nayantara one among the most sought after actresses in Tamil cinema. She debuted in Telugu with Lakshmi (2006) and featured in the successful ventures Tulasi (2007), Adurs (2010) and Simha (2010) and later in 2010, made her Kannada film debut through the blockbuster Super. Her portrayal of Sita in Sri Rama Rajyam (2011) earned her Filmfare Award for Best Telugu Actress and Nandi Award for Best Actress.