Joseph Vijay

Joseph Vijay Biography

Basic Information

• Full Name: Chandrasekaran Joseph Vijay
• Date of Birth: 22 June 1974
• Place of Birth: Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu, India
• Age (2026): 52 years
• Nicknames: Ilayathalapathy, Thalapathy (meaning “Commander”)
• Nationality: Indian
• Current Role: Ninth Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (since 10 May 2026); founder and president of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)

Family & Early Life

Father: S. A. Chandrasekhar (film director)

Mother: Shoba Chandrasekhar (playback singer and vocalist)

Siblings: He had a younger sister, Vidhya, who died at the age of two

Schooling: Fathima School, Kodambakkam; Balalok School, Virugambakkam

College: Loyola College, Chennai – studied Visual Communication, dropping out early to focus on acting

Personal Life

Spouse: Sangeetha (Sankgeetha) Sornalingam, a Sri Lankan-born British Tamil, married on 25 August 1999. She filed for divorce in 2025 and the proceedings are ongoing.

Children: Son – Jason Sanjay; Daughter – Dhivya Sasha

Career Highlights of Joseph Vijay

Early Beginnings (1984–1996)

• Made his debut as a child actor in Vetri (1984) and appeared in several films directed by his father, S. A. Chandrasekhar.
• 1992: Made his debut as a lead actor in Naalaiya Theerpu, at the age of 18.
• 1994: Rasigan brought him the fan title “Ilaya Thalapathy” and marked his singing debut.
• 1996: Poove Unakkaga, directed by Vikraman, gave him his first major breakthrough.

Rise to Stardom (1997–2002)

• Romantic and family entertainers such as Love Today (1997), Kadhalukku Mariyadhai (1997) and Thullatha Manamum Thullum (1999) established him with youth and family audiences.
• Kadhalukku Mariyadhai won him his first Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor.
• 2000–2001: Kushi, Priyamaanavale, Friends and Badri were commercial successes.

Mass Hero Transformation (2003–2010)

• 2003: Thirumalai marked the turning point from romantic lead to action hero.
• 2004: Ghilli became the first Tamil film to gross over ₹500 million at the domestic box office.
• 2005: Thirupaachi was a blockbuster and won him a Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize.
• 2007: Pokkiri, a remake of the Telugu hit, became one of the highest-grossing films of his career at the time.
• 2010: Sura was his 50th film as an actor.

Peak Stardom & Box Office Dominance (2011–2019)

• 2012: Thuppakki became the third Tamil film to gross more than ₹100 crore domestically.
• 2014: Kaththi was praised for its social theme and collected around ₹130 crore.
• 2016: Theri was the second-highest-grossing Tamil film of the year, grossing over ₹150 crore.
• 2017: Mersal became the first of his films to gross over ₹250 crore and sparked political debate over its dialogues.
• 2018: Sarkar, a political drama, was released in 80 countries and also crossed ₹250 crore.
• 2019: Bigil, a football drama, earned more than ₹300 crore.

Global Superstar (2021–2024)

• 2021: Master, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, collected over ₹300 crore despite the pandemic.
• 2022: Beast crossed ₹300 crore worldwide and became one of the most-viewed films on Netflix globally that year.
• 2023: Varisu grossed over ₹300 crore; Leo, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, crossed ₹600 crore and was one of the highest-grossing Indian films of the year.
• 2024: The Greatest of All Time took a theatrical revenue of more than ₹450 crore.

Achievements & Milestones

• Acted in over 65 films across four decades.
• Among the highest-paid actors in India; his net worth was reported at above ₹6.25 billion as of March 2026.
• Known as Thalapathy (Commander) by millions of fans worldwide.
• Appeared several times on the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list between 2012 and 2019, peaking at 26th in 2018.
• Founded the social welfare organisation Vijay Makkal Iyakkam (VMI) in 2009 for philanthropic work across Tamil Nadu.

Transition to Politics (2024–Present)

• On 2 February 2024 he announced the launch of his political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), and said he would act in only one more film.
• On 27 September 2025, 41 people died in a crowd crush at a TVK rally he addressed in Karur. He condoled the deaths and announced ex-gratia payments; the Supreme Court transferred the case to the CBI in October 2025 and he was questioned by the agency in January and March 2026.
• In the 2026 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, TVK won 108 seats and emerged as the single-largest party.
• He contested from both Perambur and Trichy East and won both seats, later resigning Trichy East to retain Perambur.
• He was sworn in as the ninth Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on 10 May 2026, leading a coalition government.

Joseph Vijay – Recent Activity

• Serving as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and as founder-president of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.
• His final film as an actor, Jana Nayagan — a political action drama directed by H. Vinoth — was released in cinemas on 23 July 2026. Its planned 9 January 2026 release had been delayed over censorship issues, and a copy was leaked on piracy websites on 9 April 2026.
• In a January 2026 interview with NDTV — his first with a national outlet since entering politics — he named M. G. Ramachandran, J. Jayalalithaa and M. Karunanidhi as his political role models.

Joseph Vijay Awards List