Priyamani

Priyamani Biography

Priyamani Raj (née Iyer; born 4 June 1984), known mononymously as Priyamani, is an Indian actress who works in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi films. She was born and raised in Bengaluru in a Palakkad Iyer family; her father, Vasudeva Iyer, runs a plantation business and her mother, Lathamani Iyer, was a bank manager and a former national-level badminton player. She is a cousin of actress Vidya Balan and a niece of playback singer Malgudi Shubha, and studied at Sri Aurobindo Memorial School and Bishop Cotton Women’s Christian College in Bengaluru.

Director Bharathiraja introduced her to films, and although Kangalal Kaidhu Sei was shot first, her Telugu film Evare Atagaadu (2003) reached cinemas ahead of it. Her breakthrough came as Muthazhagu in Ameer’s Tamil rural drama Paruthiveeran, which won her the National Film Award for Best Actress, a Tamil Nadu State Film Award and the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil. She added Filmfare South awards for Thirakkatha in Malayalam and Chaarulatha in Kannada, and received the Kalaimamani honour in 2017.

Since 2019 she has been widely recognised as Suchitra Tiwari in Amazon Prime Video’s The Family Man, for which she won a Filmfare OTT Critics award. Her later work includes Narappa (2021), Bhamakalapam and Virata Parvam (2022), Jawan and Neru (2023), Article 370 and Maidaan (2024), and Officer on Duty and the Tamil series Good Wife (2025). She announced her engagement to event organiser Mustafa Raj in 2016 and the couple married in Bengaluru in 2017.

Basic Details

• Full Name: Priyamani Raj (born Priyamani Vasudeva Iyer)
• Date of Birth: 4 June 1984
• Birthplace: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
• Nationality: Indian
• Profession: Actress
• Years Active: 2003 – present
• Industries: Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi cinema
• Education: Sri Aurobindo Memorial School and Bishop Cotton Women’s Christian College, Bengaluru
• Parents: Vasudeva Iyer and Lathamani Iyer
• Spouse: Mustafa Raj (married 2017)
• Notable Relatives: Vidya Balan (cousin); Malgudi Shubha (aunt)

Career Highlights