actor

Nayanthara (born Diana Mariam Kurian; 18 November 1984), is an Indian actress and film producer who works primarily in Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam cinema. She began her acting career with Sathyan Anthikad's Malayalam family drama *Manassinakkare* (2003), followed by her Tamil debut in *Ayya* (2005) and her Telugu debut in *Lakshmi* (2006).

Nayanthara has appeared in more than 80 feature films across Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Hindi cinema. Her filmography includes *Ghajini* (2005), *Billa* (2007), *Yaaradi Nee Mohini* (2008), *Bodyguard* (2010), *Simha* (2010), *Sri Rama Rajyam* (2011), *Raja Rani* (2013), *Arrambam* (2013), *Thani Oruvan* (2015), *Naanum Rowdy Dhaan* (2015), *Puthiya Niyamam* (2016), *Velaikkaran* (2017), *Viswasam* (2019), *Bigil* (2019), *Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy* (2019), and *God Father* (2022). She has also played leading roles in the neo-noir horror film *Maya* (2015), the social drama *Aramm* (2017), the dark comedy *Kolamaavu Kokila* (2018), the crime thriller *Imaikkaa Nodigal* (2018), the fantasy comedy *Mookuthi Amman* (2020), *Netrikann* (2021), and *Connect* (2022).

In 2023, she made her Hindi cinema debut in Atlee's action thriller *Jawan*, opposite Shah Rukh Khan. She subsequently appeared in *Annapoorani* (2023) and the sports drama *Test* (2025). Her announced and reported projects include *Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu* (2026), the Malayalam spy thriller *Patriot* (2026), the period action film *Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups* (2026), *Mookuthi Amman 2* (2026), and *Thani Oruvan 2* (2026). She has received five Filmfare Awards South, the Nandi Award for Best Actress for *Sri Rama Rajyam*, the Tamil Nadu State Film Award, and multiple SIIMA Awards. She also co-founded the production company Rowdy Pictures, which produced films including *Koozhangal* (*Pebbles*).