Amala Saree Stills

Born: September 12, 1968 , West Bengal

Spouse: Nagarjuna (m. 1992)

Education: Kalakshetra

Children: Naga Chaitanya, Akhil Akkineni

Awards: Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Telugu

Amala Akkineni (born September 12th) is an Indian film actress and Animal welfare activist. She has acted in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. She got the south filmfare award for best actress for the Malayalam movie Ulladakkam

Early life

Amala was born on September 12th, in West Bengal to an Irish mother and Bengali father. She has an elder brother and sister. The family moved around a lot due to her father being a Naval officer : Mumbai, Delhi, IIT Kharagpur, Vizag. Amala went to boarding school at Kalakshetra, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, where she completed her education and trained in Bharatnatyam under the guidance of Sharada Hoffman and Rukmini Devi Arundale. She was member of the Kalakshetra troupe from an early age and gained valuable experience as a performer. Spotted in one such performance she was offered a role in films by T. Rajender who was casting for his Tamil film "Mythili Yennai Kadali " featuring her as a Bharat Natyam dancer. In 1992, She married Nagarjuna Akkineni and became a part of the Akkineni Family.

Personal life

Amala is married to Telugu Film actor Akkineni Nagarjuna since 1992 and the couple live in Hyderabad with their son, Akhil . She is the step-mother of actor Naga Chaitanya Akkineni. Amala is Co-founder of Blue Cross of Hyderabad, a non-government organization (NGO) in Hyderabad, India, which works towards the welfare of animals and preservation of animal rights. She is a vegan and an environmentalist. She works with 16 Non Governmental and Governmental organizations to promote social issues and animal welfare. Amala practices Vipassana meditation , the teaching of the Buddha , as taught by S.N.Goenka . She studied Yoga in the Krishnamacharya Yoga tradition at Chennai.