20+ South Indian Actresses with Names, Images, and Awards

Indian Film Industry is not about Bollywood, it also consists of lots of regional cinemas. Among those South Indian cinema has its charm. Better than Hollywood actions, action-figure heroes punchy dialogues, and beautiful South Indian actresses.

South Indian actresses have always been the best when it comes to beauty and hard work. You will also agree with me that they look gorgeous. Dark eyes, fair skin, and ethnic goddess looks make them look apart from any actress worldwide.

We have created a list of the top 20 South Indian Actresses. You can read this article to know more about them like the famous movies in which they have worked and awards they have won.

Note: This list is completely based on personal opinion. The position of actresses is taken randomly no data of popularity is considered before creating this list. If you are a fan of someone and find her position low in this list then please be patient and show your support for your favorite actresses in the comment box below.

20 Best South Indian Actress of All Time –

1. Sridevi (1963-2018)

Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan got married to film producer Boney Kapoor in 1996. They had two daughters named Janhvi Kapoor, born in 1997, and Khushi Kapoor, born in 2000. They lived happily together.

Top Movies

1. Nagina
2. Mr India
3. ChaalBaaz
4. Gumrah
5. Chandni

Awards

Filmfare Awards Best Actress for the movie Chaalbaaz, Mr. India and Lamhe.

2. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was born on November 1, 1973. She went to Jai Hind College for one year. Aishwarya got married to Abhishek Bachchan on April 20, 2007. They have a daughter named Aaradhya Bachchan.

Top Movies

1. Devdas
2. Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
3. Jodhaa Akbar
4. Guru

Awards

• IIFA and Filmfare Award for Best Actress
• Won the Miss World title in 1994.
• In 2009, she got a special award called Padma Shri from the Indian government

3. Shruti Haasan

Shruti comes from a family of actors. She looks a lot like her mom, Sarika Thakur, who is also a famous actress. Shruti’s dad is Kamal Hassan. She acts in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi movies. Her sister Akshara is also an actress. They both do movies in Hindi and Tamil.

Top Movies

1. Gabbar Singh
2. Race Gurram
3. D-Day
4. Vedalam

Awards

• Filmfare award for Best Female Debut
• Supporting Actress Putnam Pudhu Kaalai

Additional Accolades
Featured in Forbes India’s Celebrity 100 list (2015 & 2016).

4. Taapsee Pannu

Taapsee is from Punjab. She became famous in South India and Bollywood quickly because she’s beautiful and acts really well. She has been in many Tamil and Telugu movies. Now, she’s in lots of Bollywood movies and shows on streaming platforms.

Top Movies

1. Pink
2. Naam Shabana
3. Mulk
4. Badla
5. Aadukalam
6. Gundello Godari

Awards

Filmfare Award for Best Actress in

• Saand Ki Aankh (2019)
• Thappad (2020)
• Haseen Dillruba (2021)

5. Tamannaah Bhatia

Tamanna Bhatia, also known as Tamannaah, is a famous actress in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi movies. People love her beautiful skin and hair. She’s so popular that many beauty brands want her to promote their products.

Lots of people follow her on Instagram – she has 15.6 million followers. Tamannaah says she loves coffee, sometimes writes poetry, enjoys dancing, and is a great actor.

Top Movies

1. Happy Days
2. Baahubali: The Beginning
3. Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy
4. Raja Rani
5. Himmatwala

Awards

Filmfare Award South for Best Actress.

6. Rashmika Mandanna

Rashmika is a famous actress in the south. She’s very popular on Instagram. She acts in Kannada and Telugu movies. People all over the world love her after seeing her in the movie Pushpa. Rashmika is known for her acting skills, not just her looks.

Top Movies

1. Kirik Party
2. Geetha Govindam
3. Sarileru Neekevvaru
4. Mission Majnu
5. Goodbye

Awards

• Four SIIMA Awards (South Indian International Movie Awards)
• Filmfare Award South for Best Actress
• Featured in Forbes India’s 30 Under 30 list for 2024

7. Kajal Aggarwal

Kajal Aggarwal is an actress who works in movies. She has acted in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi films. She’s very famous in South Indian movies and has been in over 50 films as the main character.

She also appears in ads for different brands. Kajal is very rich and her net worth is $11 million USD. She recently got married to Gautam Kitchlu, who is a businessman and tech guy.

Top Movies

1. Magadheera
2. Darling
3. Mr. Perfect
4. Brindavanam
5. Singham

Awards

• CineMAA Award for Best Actress for Brindaavanam
• Zee Telugu Golden Awards 2017 for Best Actress

8. Anushka Shetty

Anushka Shetty is a famous actress in South India. Her real name is Sweety Shetty. She has won many awards, just like Nayanthara.

Anushka is very pretty and has acted in many hit films like Baahubali, Singam, and Vedam. So, if you ask who is the favorite actress in South India, many people would say it’s Anushka Shetty.

Top Movies

1. Arundhati
2. Vedam
3. Singam
4. Mirchi
5. Size Zero
6. Rudhramadevi
7. Baahubali: The Beginning
8. Bhaagamathie

Awards

• Three Filmfare Awards South
• Best Telugu Actress

9. Sai Pallavi

Sai Pallavi is a very good actress from South India. She was born on May 9, 1992, in Kotagiri, Tamil Nadu, India. She went to Tbilisi State Medical University in Georgia and got a degree in Medicine.

Top Movies

1. Premam
2. Kali
3. Middle-Class Abbayi
4. Love Story
5. Paava Kadhaigal
6. Shyam Singha Roy

Awards

• Best Female Debut – Malayalam (2015) for Premam
• Entertainer of the Year (Female) for Love Story and Shyam Singha Roy

10. Raashi Khanna

Raashi grew up in Delhi. She wanted to be an IAS officer, but she became a South Actress instead. She was in a Disney + Hotstar series called “Rudra” with Ajay Devgn.

People like watching her because she looks beautiful. She’s one of the highest-paid South Indian Actresses, like Samantha and Rashmika.

Top Movies

1. Madras Cafe
2. Oohalu Gusagusalade
3. Joru
4. Bengal Tiger
5. Arramm
6. Agneyathee
7. Thiruchitrambalam

Awards

Raashi Khanna hasn’t received any major awards. But her performances have garnered recognition and appreciation from fans alike.

11. Trisha Krishnan

Trisha Krishnan was born in Chennai, India, on May 4, 1983. She went to Church Park School and Ethiraj College for Women in Chennai. In 1999, she won the Miss Chennai pageant, which helped her start her career in movies.

Top Movies

1. Mounam Pesiyadhe
2. Saamy
3. Ghilli
4. Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa
5. Aadhavan
6. Lein

Awards

• Best Supporting Actress for Garjanai
• Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Mention (2008) for Abhiyum Naanum (Tamil)

12. Samantha Ruth Prabhu

Samantha went to college in Chennai and got a degree in Commerce. She married Naga Chaitanya, an actor, in 2017. But in October 2021, they said they were not going to be together anymore.

Top Movies

1. Ye Maaya Chesave
2. Brindavanam
3. Dookudu
4. A Aa
5. Rangasthalam
6. Oh! Baby
7. Super Deluxe

Awards

• Best Actress – Tamil for Neethaane En Ponvasantham (Shared with Trisha Krishnan)
• Filmfare OTT Award (2022) for Best Actress in a Web Original Series – The Family Man (Season 2)

13. Pooja Hegde

Pooja is a famous actress in South India. She earns a lot of money for each movie she does, between 2 to 4 crores. Pooja was also in a contest called Miss India Universe in 2010 and came in third place. She mostly acts in movies made in Telugu and Tamil languages.

Top Movies

1. Oka Laila Kosam
2. Ala Vaikunthapurramloo
3. Most Eligible Bachelor
4. Beast
5. Housefull 4
6. Paandey

Awards

• Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut for Oka Laila Kosam (Telugu)
• SIIMA Award for Best Actress (Telugu) (2020) for Ala Vaikunthapurramloo

14. Nithya Menen

There’s a talented actress named Nithya. She’s from South India. She’s been in lots of movies, over 50! Nithya has won many awards for her acting. She’s in Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, and Kannada movies.

Top Movies

1. Akasha Gopuram
2. Kerala Cafe
3. Bangalore Days
4. Kanchana 3
5. Thiruvalluvar
6. Bheemla Nayak

Awards

• Nandi Award for Best Actress (2013) for “Em Pillo Em Pillado”
• Kerala State Film Award for Best Supporting Actress (2013) for “Bangalore Days”

15. Shalini Pandey

Graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication from Rani Durgawati University, Jabalpur. Shalini’s acting journey began in theatre.

She actively participated in college productions before moving to Mumbai to pursue a career in acting. After several auditions, she landed her breakthrough role in the Telugu film “Arjun Reddy” (2017).

Top Movies

1. Arjun Reddy
2. 100% Love
3. Sita Rama Ram
4. Jayamgaran
5. Gorilla

Awards

• Zee Cine Awards for Best Female Debut (2018) for Arjun Reddy
• SIIMA Award for Best Debut Actress – Telugu (2018) for Arjun Reddy

16. Keerthy Suresh

This famous South Indian actress is well-known for her amazing acting. She won a big award for her role in a Telugu movie called Mahanati.

She acts in movies from Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam languages. She’s also recognized by Forbes in their list of talented young people under 30 in 2021.

Top Movies

1. Rajini Murugan
2. Thodari
3. Naan Sirithal
4. Penguin
5. Annaatthe
6. Vaashi
7. Bhola Shankar

Awards

• National Film Award for Best Actress (2019) for Mahanati
• Three SIIMA Awards (South Indian International Movie Awards)
• Filmfare Award South for Best Actress – Telugu (2018) for Mahanati

17. Nayanthara

Diana Mariam Kurian was born on November 18, 1984, in Bangalore, India. Her dad was in the Indian Air Force, and her mom’s name is Omana Kurian. In 2022, Nayanthara got married to Vignesh Shivan, who is also a director. They’ve worked together for a long time.

Top Movies

1. Manassinakkare
2. Vismayathumbathu
3. Aaru
4. Velaikkaran
5. Aramm
6. Kolamaavu Kokila
7. Imaikkaa Nodigal
8. Netrikkann
9. Lakshmi
10. Babu BangaramAravaan
11. Viswasam

Awards

• Filmfare Awards South
• Best Female Debut – South (2006) for Ayya (Tamil)
• Best Actress – Telugu (2012) for Sri Rama Rajyam
• Best Actress – Tamil (2014) for Raja Rani
• Andhra Pradesh State Nandi Film Award for Sri Rama Rajyam (2011)

18. Shriya Saran

Shriya Saran Bhatnagar went to two schools, one in Haridwar and another in New Delhi. After that, she studied at a college called Lady Shri Ram College for Women in Delhi. She got married to Andrei Koscheev, who is from Russia, in the year 2018.

Top Movies

• Gautamiputra Satakarni
• Narasimha Reddy
• Tujhe Meri Kasam
• Mission Istanbul

Awards

South Indian International Movie Award (SIIMA) for Best Female Debut – Malayalam for Pokkiri Raja (2010)

19. Aishwarya Rajesh

Aishwarya Rajesh was born on January 10, 1990. She has three brothers, one younger and two older. Aishwarya started acting in movies in 2011 with a Tamil film called “Avargalum Ivargalum,” but not many people noticed her at first.

Later, she worked hard and got roles in other movies like “Sattapadi Kutram” (2011) and “Vilayada Va” (2012), even though they were smaller parts.

Top Movies

1. Rummy
2. Pannaiyarum Padminiyum
3. Kaaka Muttai
4. Vadhandhi: The Fable of Velonie
5. World Famous Lover
6. Jomonte Suvisheshangal

Awards and Recognition

• National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress (2019) for Kanaa (Tamil)
• Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Mention (2008) for Abhiyum Naanum (Tamil)

20. Anu Emmanuel

Anu was born in the US to a Malayali family. She acted in a Malayalam movie when she was a kid. She went to school in the US. Later, she started studying psychology but quit to become an actress in India.

Top Movies

1. Manchu
2. Oxygen
3. Kittu Unnadu Jagratha
4. Majnu, Agnyaathavaasi
5. Alludu Adhurs
6. Maha Samudram
7. Action Hero Biju

Awards

Anu received a Producers Guild Film Award for her performance in the Telugu film “Geetha Govindam” (2018).

Note: Images used in the blog post are taken from different sources on the Internet. If you own any images then please drop us an email we will remove them from our website.

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