Happy birthday, Nayanthara!
Southern sensation Nayanthara, who is often called Lady Superstar, turns 32 on November 18.
We celebrate her birthday by looking back at her career and peeking into her Instagram pictures!
Born to Malayali Christian parents Kurian Kodiyattu and Omana Kurian, Nayanthara was named Diana Mariam Kurian.
Since her father was in the Air Force, Nayanthara did her schooling in various parts of the country. She has an older brother, who lives in Dubai.
She started working as a model while still at college. She was spotted by noted Malayalam filmmaker Sathyan Anthikkad, who offered her a role in his 2003 family drama Manassinakkare.
The success of the film brought Nayanthara instant recognition.
In 2004, she worked in two films with Mohanlal -- Shaji Kailas's Natturajavu and Fazil's Vismayathumbathu, which was a huge success.
Nayanthara made her Tamil debut in Hari’s hugely successful 2005 family drama Ayya, opposite Sarathkumar.
The same year saw Nayanthara team up with Rajinikanth for P Vasu’s horror comedy Chandramukhi. The film broke box office records with a theatrical run of over 800 days.
Nayanthara became a household name overnight.
She also played a significant role in A R Murugadoss' Ghajini.
Nayanthara’s first Telugu film Lakshmi, opposite Venkatesh, opened to mixed reviews but ended up as a success at the box office.
Her only Kannada film till date titled Super opposite actor-director Upendra Rao also became a massive hit.
It was during the shooting of the Tamil film Vallavan in 2006 that Nayanthara was romantically linked to the director and co-star of the film, Simbu. Though she denied the rumours initially, Nayanthara later confirmed that she had broken up with the actor.
Selvaraghavan's Yaaradi Nee Mohini, opposite Dhanush, turned out to be an important film in her career. It was both a critical and commercial success, becoming one of the highest grossing films of the year.
Her stylish avatar in Vishnuvardhan’s gangster film Billa also earned her a lot of recognition.
It was after the release of Bapu's 2011's Telugu mythological film Sri Rama Rajyam -- in which she played Sita -- that there was a sudden lull in her career.
Rumors were flying thick and fast that this would be her last film before marriage to actor-turned-director Prabhu Deva, with whom she was in a relationship for a few years. She adopted her stage name Nayanthara as her official name.
But the couple faced a lot of problems and things turned nasty when several women organisations protested against her for having a relationship with a married man. After much controversies, Nayanthara announced that she had ended her relationship with the actor in 2012.
Despite the personal upheavals in her life, Nayanthara came back stronger than ever professionally. Her first Tamil film after a gap of three years -- Raja Rani -- won her a Filmfare. This was followed by a series of hit films like Ajith-starrer Arrambam, Venkat Prabhu’s Masss, Mohan Raja’s Thani Oruvan, the horror film Maya and Malayalam comedy drama Bhaskar The Rascal opposite Mammooty.
Nayanthara is currently shooting for R Ajay Gnanamuthu’s romantic thriller Imaikkaa Nodigal, opposite Atharvaa. She is believed to be in a relationship with Vignesh Shivan, who directed her in 2015's superhit comedy Naanum Rowdydhaan.
