Nayanthara was born Diana Mariam Kuriyan, 18 November 1984, is an Indian actress who appears mainly in South Indian films, mainly in Tamil.

Nayanthara was born in Bangalore, Karnataka, India, from Malayali Jacobite Syrian Orthodox parents Kurian Kodiyattu and Omana Kurian, who are from the aristocratic Kodiyatt family of Tiruvalla, Kerala. His brother, Leno, is nine years old and lives in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. As his father was an officer of the Indian Air Force, Nayanthara studied in various parts of India, mainly in North India. She studied in Jamnagar, Gujarat and Delhi. In Tiruvalla, she studied at the Balikamadom Girls’ High School and Marthoma College in Thiruvalla for her bachelor’s degree in English Literature.

Nayanthara made her acting debut in the film Malassalam Manassinakkare with Jayaram. She made her Tamil cinema debut with Ayya (2005) and Telugu with Lakshmi (2006). Both were successful. After that she had many commercially successful Tamil and Telugu films like Chandramukhi (2005), Dubai Seenu (2007), Tulasi (2007), Billa (2007), Yaaradi Nee Mohini (2008), Aadhavan (2009), Adhurs (2010), Simha (2010), Boss Engira Bhaskaran (2010), Sri Rama Rajyam (2011), Raja Rani (2013), Arrambam (2013), Thani Oruvan (2015), Maya (2015), Naanum Rowdy Dhaan (2015), Babu Bangaram (2016) and Iru Mugan (2016).

n 2010, she also made her debut in Kannada Cinema through the bilingual Kannada-Telugu Super, her only appearance in a Kannada movie to date. Her performance of Sita in Sri Rama Rajyam (2011) earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Telugu Actress and the Nandi Award for Best Actress. She won the Filmfare award for best Tamil actress for her performance in Raja Rani (2013) and Naanum Rowdy Dhan (2015). Kochi Times named her in her “List of the 15 Most Desirable Women in 2014. In 2017, she received the Filmfare Award for Best Actress, Malayalam for her performance in Puthiya Niyamam (2016), marking her first Filmfare Award in Malayalam.