Samantha Ruth Prabhu (born 28 April 1987) is an Indian actress and film producer who works mainly in Telugu and Tamil cinema. She made her debut in 2010 with Ye Maaya Chesave and became one of the leading stars of south Indian cinema. She reached audiences across India with the streaming series The Family Man (2021). In 2026 Maa Inti Bangaaram, which she starred in and co-produced, became the highest-grossing Telugu film ever led by a woman.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Samantha Ruth Prabhu |
| Born | 28 April 1987, Chennai (then Madras), Tamil Nadu, India |
| Age | 39 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | Actress, film producer |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Education | Stella Maris College, Chennai (B.Com) |
| Spouses | Naga Chaitanya (m. 2017; separated 2021), Raj Nidimoru (m. 2025) |
| Production company | Tralala Moving Pictures |
| Known for | Ye Maaya Chesave, Eega, Rangasthalam, Oh! Baby, The Family Man, Maa Inti Bangaaram |
Early Life and Education
Samantha was born in Chennai and grew up in the suburb of Pallavaram. Her father, Joseph Prabhu, is Telugu, and her mother, Ninette, is Malayali. She is the youngest of three children and has two older brothers. She studied at Holy Angels Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School and earned a commerce degree from Stella Maris College. She began modelling while still a student, and that work led to her first film offers.
Career
Samantha’s first lead role was Jessie in Gautham Vasudev Menon’s Telugu romance Ye Maaya Chesave (2010), opposite Naga Chaitanya. She also appeared briefly in the Tamil version, Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa. She won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South and a Nandi Special Jury Award. In 2012 she won Filmfare Best Actress awards in both Telugu and Tamil in the same year, for S. S. Rajamouli’s Eega and for Neethaane En Ponvasantham.
She starred in a run of commercial hits, including Attarintiki Daredi (2013), Kaththi (2014), Theri (2016), 24 (2016) and Mersal (2017). In 2018 she won praise for playing a village woman in Rangasthalam and a journalist in Mahanati, the biopic of the actress Savitri. In 2019 she appeared in the anthology film Super Deluxe, the family drama Majili and the fantasy comedy Oh! Baby. Oh! Baby was a hit with her as its sole lead.
In season 2 of Amazon Prime Video’s The Family Man (2021), directed by Raj & DK, Samantha played Raji, a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel. The role won her the Filmfare OTT Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series. The same year her song “Oo Antava” from Pushpa: The Rise became a nationwide hit. She later starred in Yashoda (2022), Shaakuntalam (2023) and Kushi (2023). She teamed up with Raj & DK again for the spy series Citadel: Honey Bunny (2024), opposite Varun Dhawan.
Samantha founded the production company Tralala Moving Pictures, whose first film was the horror comedy Subham (2025). The company’s second film, Maa Inti Bangaaram, was released in June 2026. It was directed by B. V. Nandini Reddy from a story by Raj Nidimoru. Samantha plays a woman who appears to be an ordinary homemaker but is hiding a violent past. The film grossed more than ₹100 crore worldwide and overtook Rudhramadevi as the highest-grossing Telugu film led by a woman.
Personal Life
Samantha married her Ye Maaya Chesave co-star Naga Chaitanya in 2017, and the couple announced their separation in 2021. In October 2022 she said she had been diagnosed with myositis, an autoimmune condition, and she later took a break from work to recover. On 1 December 2025 she married the filmmaker Raj Nidimoru, one half of the directing duo Raj & DK, at the Isha Yoga Centre in Coimbatore.
Philanthropy and Business
In 2012 Samantha founded Pratyusha Support, a charity that pays for medical care for women and children. She has also run the clothing label Saaki and worked with the Telangana government on Tweave, a project promoting handloom weaving.
Awards and Achievements
Selected Filmography
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Samantha Ruth Prabhu born?
Samantha Ruth Prabhu was born on 28 April 1987 in Chennai (then Madras), Tamil Nadu, India and is 39 years old.
What is Samantha Ruth Prabhu known for?
Known for: Ye Maaya Chesave, Eega, Rangasthalam, Oh! Baby, The Family Man, Maa Inti Bangaaram.
Featured image: Samantha Ruth Prabhu at the Kushi music concert, 15 August 2023. Photo by Verghese TK, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
