Last updated: October 13, 2026
Rashmika Mandanna is an Indian actress who works in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films, and she is one of the few stars whose name draws audiences in all four industries. She grew up in a small town in Karnataka and moved from a college beauty contest to the lead role in some of the biggest Indian films of the last decade. This Rashmika Mandanna biography covers her early life, her career, her awards, her February 2026 wedding and the projects she has lined up for the rest of the year. Every detail was checked against reliable sources, and anything unclear is marked as such.
Rashmika Mandanna at a Glance
Most readers want the basics first, so here is a short profile before the full story. The table below uses details that appear consistently in reliable reference and news sources. A few websites show a different birth date or birthplace, and a later section explains why those versions should be ignored.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Rashmika Mandanna |
| Date of birth | 5 April 1996 (age 30 as of October 2026) |
| Birthplace | Virajpet, Kodagu district, Karnataka, India |
| Profession | Actress, model and brand ambassador |
| Film industries | Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Hindi |
| Debut film | Kirik Party (2016, Kannada) |
| Breakthrough film | Geetha Govindam (2018, Telugu) |
| Education | Bachelor’s degree in psychology, journalism and English literature |
| Spouse | Vijay Deverakonda (married 26 February 2026) |
| Popular nickname | National Crush |
| Latest release | Cocktail 2 (19 June 2026) |
| Next releases | Ranabaali (16 October 2026) and Mysaa (27 November 2026) |
Rashmika Mandanna Early Life and Family
Rashmika was born on 5 April 1996 in Virajpet, a small town in the Kodagu district of Karnataka, into a Kodava Hindu family. Her parents are Suman and Madan Mandanna, and she has a younger sister named Shiman. Her father runs a coffee estate and a function hall in their hometown, while her mother looks after the home. A few websites give her mother a different name, but the version repeated by most reference sources is Suman, so that is the name used here.
She has spoken openly in interviews about money being tight during her childhood. By her own account, her parents had trouble finding a house and paying rent, and even buying a toy was hard. She has said those years still affect how she thinks about spending. She often calls her mother her biggest strength, and she helped look after her sister while they were growing up.
For school, Rashmika went to Coorg Public School, a boarding school in Gonikoppal. She has said she found it hard to express herself back then and often felt misunderstood by classmates. That quiet, shy side of her childhood makes her later life in front of cameras look even more surprising.
Education and the Modelling Break
After school, Rashmika studied psychology, journalism and English literature for her bachelor’s degree at M. S. Ramaiah College of Arts, Science and Commerce in Bengaluru. In 2014 she won the Clean & Clear Fresh Face title, which also made her a brand ambassador for the skincare brand. Several production houses approached her soon after, but she said no because acting was never her plan. A college professor finally pushed her to audition, and once she signed her first film, her nervous parents agreed to back her.
Her next big step came in 2015, when she won a pageant that director Rishab Shetty happened to notice. He offered her the lead female role in his upcoming Kannada comedy, and that offer started her film journey.
Rashmika Mandanna Career: From Kirik Party to Telugu Stardom
Her film career began with Kirik Party in 2016, a Kannada romantic comedy in which she played Saanvi opposite Rakshit Shetty. The movie became the highest-grossing Kannada film of the year, and she won the SIIMA award for Best Debut Actress. She has said that if the film had flopped, she would have gone home to help with her father’s business. Her 2017 releases, Anjani Putra and Chamak, kept her busy in Kannada cinema and brought her first Best Actress nominations at the Filmfare Awards South and SIIMA.
In 2018 she entered Telugu cinema with Chalo and worked hard on the language with help from the film’s assistant director. Later that year she starred opposite Vijay Deverakonda in Geetha Govindam, a romantic comedy made on a small budget that crossed the ₹100 crore mark. It became her real breakthrough and won her the Filmfare South Critics Award for Best Actress in Telugu. The pair reunited for Dear Comrade in 2019, where she played an aspiring cricketer, but the film underperformed, and she later said the online backlash over one kissing scene was painful.
Commercial success continued in 2020 with Sarileru Neekevvaru opposite Mahesh Babu and Bheeshma opposite Nithiin, though critics often felt her roles gave her little to do. In 2021 she made her Tamil debut with Sulthan, starring opposite Karthi. These years built her reputation as a dependable lead in mainstream entertainers across three languages.
Pan-India Fame: Pushpa, Animal and Bollywood
Pushpa: The Rise, released in late 2021, changed the size of her career. She played Srivalli opposite Allu Arjun, learned the Chittoor style of Telugu for the role, and the song Saami Saami carried her face far beyond South India. Its sequel, Pushpa 2: The Rule, came in 2024 and earned more than ₹1,800 crore worldwide, which made it the biggest film of her career so far. For that performance she won the SIIMA award for Best Actress in Telugu.
Her Hindi journey started with Goodbye in 2022, where she played the daughter of a family dealing with a loss. The film struggled at the box office, but she still won the Zee Cine Award for Best Female Debut. Mission Majnu followed on Netflix in 2023, and then came Animal, in which she played Geetanjali opposite Ranbir Kapoor. The film earned more than ₹900 crore and drew criticism for how it treated its female characters, a charge she answered by saying her character acted to protect her family.
In 2025 she played Maharani Yesubai opposite Vicky Kaushal in Chhaava, which grossed over ₹800 crore. Trade coverage described her as the first Indian actress with three films that each crossed ₹500 crore. The same year brought setbacks too, since Sikandar with Salman Khan failed to recover its cost, and Thamma did not do well either. Her most praised work of the year came in the Telugu drama The Girlfriend, where she played a woman stuck in a controlling relationship; critics liked her performance, even though the film lost money.
Her 2026 Hindi release was Cocktail 2, a romance with Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon that reached theatres on 19 June. She has said she was nervous about the lighter role because audiences had started to expect serious performances from her. Reviewers once again pointed to her Hindi dialogue delivery as a weak spot, though one critic felt she handled the dramatic scenes well.
Rashmika Mandanna Film Timeline
Her filmography is long, so this table lists the key titles in order. It focuses on the films that mattered most for her growth rather than every single release. Box office words such as hit or flop follow how mainstream trade and news coverage described each film.
| Year | Film | Language | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Kirik Party | Kannada | Debut; biggest Kannada hit of the year |
| 2018 | Chalo | Telugu | Telugu debut |
| 2018 | Geetha Govindam | Telugu | Breakthrough film with Vijay Deverakonda |
| 2019 | Dear Comrade | Telugu | Second film with Deverakonda; critics’ award at SIIMA |
| 2021 | Sulthan | Tamil | Tamil debut |
| 2021 | Pushpa: The Rise | Telugu | Pan-India recognition |
| 2022 | Sita Ramam | Telugu | Well-reviewed supporting role |
| 2022 | Goodbye | Hindi | Hindi debut in theatres |
| 2023 | Animal | Hindi | Among her highest-grossing films |
| 2024 | Pushpa 2: The Rule | Telugu | Her biggest box-office success |
| 2025 | Chhaava | Hindi | Historical blockbuster |
| 2025 | The Girlfriend | Telugu | Critically praised lead performance |
| 2026 | Cocktail 2 | Hindi | Romance with Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon |
Awards and Recognition
Rashmika has won four SIIMA awards so far: Best Debut Actress in Kannada for Kirik Party, Critics Best Actress for Yajamana in Kannada, Critics Best Actress for Dear Comrade in Telugu, and Best Actress in Telugu for Pushpa 2. She also took home the Filmfare Awards South Critics prize for Best Actress in Telugu for Geetha Govindam. Goodbye earned her the Zee Cine Award for Best Female Debut. She has been nominated for Best Actress at Filmfare South several times, including for Pushpa: The Rise, but a main Filmfare South win has not come yet.
Outside film awards, Forbes India included her in its 30 Under 30 list in 2024, and GQ India named her among the highest-paid actresses in South Indian cinema. Award counts vary a little from site to site, so this article follows the full award tables that list wins and nominations separately.
Rashmika Mandanna Husband and Personal Life
Rashmika married actor Vijay Deverakonda on 26 February 2026 in Udaipur. The ceremonies followed both Telugu Hindu and Kodava traditions. Rumours about the two had floated around since 2020, and she never addressed them directly until the couple got engaged in October 2025. Indian media reported that their wedding photo became the most-liked Instagram post in India, which shows how closely fans followed the story.
Earlier in her career, she was engaged to her Kirik Party co-star Rakshit Shetty. They announced the engagement on 3 July 2017 at a private party in her hometown, and they ended it in September 2018, saying they were not compatible. Both of them have moved on publicly, and there is nothing else confirmed about that period that readers need to know.
Fans call her the National Crush, a nickname that grew out of her friendly, bubbly screen image. Allu Arjun joked about it by calling her Crushmika. Film critics who have interviewed her often describe her as sincere and easy to talk to.
Latest News and Upcoming Films in 2026
Rashmika’s busiest stretch of the year is happening right now. Ranabaali, a period action drama with her husband Vijay Deverakonda, is set for worldwide release on 16 October 2026, after an earlier plan for 11 September was moved. Directed by Rahul Sankrityan and produced by Mythri Movie Makers, the film is set in colonial-era South India, and she plays a character named Jayamma. Its trailer arrived on 9 October, and it is the first film the couple have released since their wedding.
Her action thriller Mysaa, directed by Rawindra Pulle, is scheduled for 27 November 2026. A teaser released in September shows her as a tribal warrior, and she has been training for the physical scenes, including stunt work in Bangkok. In September she also attended the launch of a biopic on the Carnatic singer M. S. Subbulakshmi, titled MS: A Legacy on Screen, directed by Gowtam Tinnanuri, in which she is set to play the title role. Kamal Haasan sounded the clapboard at the Chennai event.
In late July, several outlets reported that she had hurt her hip tendon during a dance sequence and was advised six weeks of rest. At that time neither she nor her team had made an official statement about the injury, so the details come from media reports. She later shared updates about returning to her regular work schedule and made her first public appearance after the injury in August. Some film databases also list other titles, such as Pushpa 3 and an Atlee-directed film, but I could not confirm their release dates from official announcements, so they are left out of this schedule.
Brand Deals, Social Media and Her Public Voice
Off screen, Rashmika is one of the most visible celebrity endorsers in India. She has worked with brands such as McDonald’s, Dabur Honey, Cashify, Kalyan Jewellers and Bisk Farm, and she became the first Indian ambassador for the Japanese brand Onitsuka Tiger in 2023. She was named the Indian brand ambassador for Swarovski in 2025 and is both an ambassador and an investor in the beauty brand Plum. As of August 2024 she was reported to be the most-followed South Indian woman on Instagram.
She also became a public voice on online safety after a deepfake video using her face went viral in November 2023. She said she felt scared, not only for herself but for anyone who could be harmed by misused technology. Delhi Police registered a case, and a man was arrested in January 2024. Later she was appointed national brand ambassador of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre.
Criticism and Challenges in Her Career
Her career has not been free of criticism, and a fair biography should say so. Reviewers have often said that in big action films she plays the supportive love interest of an intense hero, and some described those roles as decorative. Critics have also commented on her Hindi accent in several of her Bollywood releases. She has answered by saying she follows each director’s vision, chooses films by instinct, and that exaggerated behavior in some movies is a creative choice meant to entertain.
At the same time, Sita Ramam and The Girlfriend showed that she can handle quieter, more serious parts. She has also spoken about struggling with online trolling earlier in her career, especially after Dear Comrade. That mix of praise and pushback is part of why her next few films, from Ranabaali to the Subbulakshmi biopic, will be watched closely.
Facts About Rashmika Mandanna That Many Websites Get Wrong
While researching this article, I noticed several popular pages repeating mistakes that spread from one site to another. One page gives her birth date as 1 April 1995 in Mandya, and another says she was born in Kodikannal, but reference sources agree on 5 April 1996 in Virajpet. Some pages also call Mission Majnu her Bollywood debut, yet Goodbye reached theatres first in October 2022, while Mission Majnu came to Netflix in January 2023.
Net worth is another area full of loose numbers. Different websites publish very different estimates, and none of them show how the figure was calculated, so I have not used any of them. If a figure is ever confirmed by a reliable business source, it should be labeled as an estimate and dated.
How This Was Researched
I put this biography together from reference pages, major Indian news outlets, entertainment trade reports and official film announcements. I read through the top-ranking Rashmika Mandanna pages first, and many of them were thin, outdated or contradicted each other on basic facts. Where sources disagreed, such as on her mother’s name, I used the version most reliable sources agree on and said so. This article tries to fill the gaps those pages leave, including her 2026 wedding, her upcoming releases, a clear film timeline and an honest look at criticism.
Accuracy Note
This biography is based on publicly available information, including interviews and verified news coverage, and it was last updated on 13 October 2026. Release dates in the film industry can change quickly. If you spot anything outdated or incorrect, please let us know so we can update it.
Written and researched by Usama Khan, contributor at lopin magazine.
Frequently Asked Questions About Rashmika Mandanna
How old is Rashmika Mandanna?
Rashmika Mandanna was born on 5 April 1996, so she is 30 years old as of October 2026.
Who is Rashmika Mandanna’s husband?
Her husband is actor Vijay Deverakonda. The couple got engaged in October 2025 and married on 26 February 2026 in Udaipur, with both Telugu Hindu and Kodava ceremonies.
Where was Rashmika Mandanna born?
She was born in Virajpet, a town in Kodagu district, Karnataka. Some low-quality websites list other towns, but reference sources agree on Virajpet.
What was Rashmika Mandanna’s first film?
Her first film was the Kannada romantic comedy Kirik Party in 2016. Her Telugu debut was Chalo in 2018, her Tamil debut was Sulthan in 2021, and her Hindi debut was Goodbye in 2022.
Which are Rashmika Mandanna’s biggest hit films?
Her highest-grossing films include Pushpa 2: The Rule, Animal and Chhaava, each of which earned hundreds of crores at the box office. Geetha Govindam and Pushpa: The Rise were also major turning points for her career.
What is Rashmika Mandanna’s next movie?
Ranabaali, with Vijay Deverakonda, is set for release on 16 October 2026, and the action thriller Mysaa is scheduled for 27 November 2026. Dates in the film industry can shift, so it is worth checking official announcements.
Why is Rashmika Mandanna called the National Crush?
Fans and the media gave her the nickname because of her cheerful screen image and her popularity across several language industries. Her Pushpa co-star Allu Arjun also joked about it by calling her Crushmika.
What is Rashmika Mandanna’s net worth?
There is no verified or official figure. Websites publish very different estimates, so this article does not repeat any of them as fact.
Usama Khan is the founder and editor-in-chief of Lopin Magazine, where he oversees the site’s biography and news coverage with a focus on accuracy and well-researched storytelling.
