Anushka Shetty

Sweety Shetty, known professionally as Anushka Shetty, was born on November 7, 1981, in Mangalore, Karnataka, into a Tulu-speaking Bunt family from the Puttur taluk of Dakshina Kannada district. She earned a Bachelor of Computer Applications from Mount Carmel College in Bangalore and was a trained yoga instructor under Bharat Thakur before entering the film industry.

Anushka made her acting debut with the 2005 Telugu film “Super”, which earned her a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress nomination. She rose to prominence with S.S. Rajamouli’s blockbuster “Vikramarkudu” (2006) and cemented her star status with the Telugu dark fantasy film “Arundhati” (2009), where she played dual roles and won her first Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu.

In Tamil cinema, Anushka delivered memorable performances in “Singam” (2010) and “Singam II” (2013) opposite Suriya, and “Yennai Arindhaal” (2015) with Ajith. She was honoured with the Kalaimamani by the Government of Tamil Nadu in 2010. Her portrayal of the titular queen in the period epic “Rudhramadevi” (2015) won her a third Filmfare Award.

However, her most iconic role came as Princess Devasena in S.S. Rajamouli’s “Baahubali” series (2015–2017), which became the highest-grossing Indian film franchise of its time and earned her global recognition. Popularly known as the “Lady Superstar” of South Indian cinema, Anushka has appeared in over 50 films and is one of the highest-paid actresses in the industry, with three Filmfare Awards South, two Nandi Awards, two SIIMA Awards, and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award to her name.