Ramya Krishnan

Biography

Ramya Krishnan (born 15 September 1970), also credited as Ramya Krishna (in the Telugu and Kannada film industries) is an Indian actress. She has appeared in over 260 films in five languages: Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi. Ramya has won four Filmfare Awards, three Nandi Awards, and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize.

She is known for playing Neelambari in Padayappa which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil. She also won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Telugu for the 2009 comedy film Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam. Ramya's portrayal of Sivagami Devi in the Baahubali series (2015–17) received universal acclaim. Both Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) and its sequel Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017) are among the highest-grossing Indian films.

Her performance in the franchise won her several accolades, including two Filmfare Awards for Best Supporting Actress – Telugu (2016 and 2018) and an Andhra Pradesh State Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actress (2016).

Ramya Krishnan received international media attention for her performance in Baahubali for both sequels. She started to act in more Tamil television series airing on Sun TV and less in movies. Notable series include Vamsam, Shakthi, and a judge on Bigg Boss Jodigal. Following the COVID-19 diagnosis of Kamal Haasan in November 2021, Krishnan hosted Bigg Boss Tamil Season 5 and became the first, and so far only, woman to have hosted Bigg Boss Tamil.

Ramya was born on 15 September 1970 in Madras (present-day Chennai). She is the niece of Tamil film actor, comedian, and former Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha Cho Ramaswamy. She received initial training in Bharathanatyam, Western, and Kuchipudi dance forms and has given many stage performances.