Ramya Krishnan

Biography

Ramya Krishnan (born 15 September 1970) is an Indian actress who has appeared in over 260 films across Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi cinema. She began her acting career with the Tamil film Vellai Manasu (1985).

Krishnan's breakthrough in Telugu cinema came with K. Viswanath's Sutradharulu (1989). Her Telugu films from the 1990s include K. Raghavendra Rao's Alludugaru (1990), Allari Mogudu (1992), and Annamayya (1997). Her Hindi film credits include Parampara (1993), Khalnayak (1993), and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998). In 1999, she played Neelambari opposite Rajinikanth in the Tamil film Padayappa, earning the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil.

Krishnan appeared in devotional films including Ammoru (1995) and Rajakali Amman (2000), and in the comedy Panchatanthiram (2002), alongside Kamal Haasan. She later played Rajamata Sivagami Devi in S. S. Rajamouli's films Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017), earning the Filmfare and Nandi Awards for Best Supporting Actress

Krishnan portrayed a politician inspired by J. Jayalalithaa in the web series Queen (2019). Her later film roles include Super Deluxe (2019), the Telugu drama Republic (2021), Liger (2022), and the action film Jailer (2023), in which she reunited with Rajinikanth. Her 2024 films include Guntur Kaaram and Purushothamudu. She also hosted the reality television show Second Love (2026) on JioHotstar.