Nagarjuna Akkineni Biography: Age, Wife Amala, Sons, Family, Movies List, King100, Bigg Boss Telugu & Latest News
Last updated: 2 November 2026
Nagarjuna Akkineni is an Indian actor, producer and television host who works mainly in Telugu cinema, with notable films in Hindi and Tamil. Born on 29 August 1959 in Madras (now Chennai), he is the son of legendary actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR) and became a star with Mani Ratnam’s Geethanjali and Ram Gopal Varma’s Siva (both 1989). Known to fans as “King” Nagarjuna, he has won two National Film Awards – for producing Ninne Pelladata (1996) and a special mention for his performance in Annamayya (1997) – along with ten Nandi Awards. He co-owns Annapurna Studios, has hosted Bigg Boss Telugu since 2019, and his 100th film, King100, releases on 24 December 2026. He is married to actress Amala, and his sons Naga Chaitanya and Akhil Akkineni are both actors. This Nagarjuna Akkineni biography covers his age, family, wife, sons, education, movies list, awards, businesses, net worth and latest news.
Nagarjuna Akkineni Key Facts
- Born: 29 August 1959, Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu, India
- Father: Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR), Telugu film legend
- Wife: Amala Akkineni (married 1992)
- Sons: Naga Chaitanya (born 1986) and Akhil Akkineni (born 1994)
- Awards: 2 National Film Awards, 10 Nandi Awards, 3 Filmfare Awards South
- 100th film: King100 (24 December 2026)
Nagarjuna Akkineni Latest News
- King100 on 24 December 2026: Nagarjuna’s 100th film was titled King100 on his 67th birthday, 29 August 2026, with a first glimpse showing him as a self-made “people’s King”. Written and directed by Tamil filmmaker Ra Karthik and produced by Annapurna Studios, it reunites him with Tabu nearly 30 years after their earlier films together, with Ashok Selvan as the main villain and music by Devi Sri Prasad. Nagarjuna has called it a complete commercial entertainer with a father-daughter story at its heart. It releases worldwide on 24 December 2026, the same day as Shah Rukh Khan’s King.
- Bigg Boss Telugu 10 (September 2026): He returned as host of Bigg Boss Telugu season 10, which premiered on 6 September 2026 on Star Maa and JioHotstar with a “Dasavatharam” theme – his eighth straight season as host. Before the launch he said he would not accept disrespectful behaviour from contestants.
- Turned 67 (29 August 2026): He spent his birthday on a family holiday and asked fans not to gather at his Hyderabad home.
- 40 years in films (May 2026): Marking 12 years of Manam in May 2026, Nagarjuna thanked fans for the love he has received over his 40-year career and explained why 23 May is special to him.
- Coolie and Kuberaa (2025): In 2025 he played the honest ex-CBI officer Deepak in Sekhar Kammula’s Kuberaa with Dhanush, and the stylish villain Simon in Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Coolie with Rajinikanth, which earned more than ₹400 crore worldwide.
Nagarjuna Akkineni Age, Wife, Family and Wiki
| Bio | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Akkineni Nagarjuna |
| Nicknames | King, Nag, Yuva Samrat |
| Profession | Actor, producer, TV host, businessman |
| Date of Birth | 29 August 1959 |
| Age (as of 2026) | 67 years |
| Birthplace | Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu, India |
| Home | Hyderabad, Telangana |
| Zodiac Sign | Virgo |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Education | |
| School | Hyderabad Public School |
| Junior College | Little Flower Junior College, Hyderabad |
| University | College of Engineering, Guindy (first year); Eastern Michigan University, USA |
| Qualification | B.S. in Mechanical Engineering |
| Family | |
| Father | Akkineni Nageswara Rao (actor, died 2014)
|
| Mother | Annapurna Akkineni
|
| Siblings | Youngest of five, including producer Akkineni Venkat |
| Career | |
| Years Active | 1986–present (child roles in 1961 and 1967) |
| Debut as Lead | Vikram (1986) |
| Hindi Debut | Shiva (1990) |
| 100th Film | King100 (2026) |
| Personal | |
| Wife | Amala Akkineni (m. 1992)
|
| First Wife | Lakshmi Daggubati (m. 1984; divorced 1990) |
| Sons | Naga Chaitanya, Akhil Akkineni
|
| Daughters-in-law | Sobhita Dhulipala; Zainab Ravdjee |
Early Life, Family and Education
Nagarjuna was born on 29 August 1959 at St. Isabel’s Hospital in Madras to Akkineni Nageswara Rao, one of the founding stars of Telugu cinema, and his wife, Annapurna. He was the youngest of five children. He grew up in Hyderabad, where he studied at Hyderabad Public School and Little Flower Junior College. He began a mechanical engineering degree at the College of Engineering, Guindy, in Madras, then moved to the United States and graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Eastern Michigan University.
His first screen appearance came as a baby in his father’s film Velugu Needalu (1961), and he had a child role in Sudigundalu (1967), which also starred ANR.
Nagarjuna Akkineni Career
Debut and Breakthrough: Vikram, Geethanjali and Siva (1986–1990)
Nagarjuna made his debut as a lead actor in Vikram (1986), a Telugu remake of the Hindi film Hero. After hits such as Aakhari Poratam (1988), he starred in Mani Ratnam’s romantic drama Geethanjali (1989), which won the National Award for Best Popular Film. The same year, Ram Gopal Varma’s debut film Siva – about a college student fighting campus gangsters – became a landmark of Telugu cinema and made Nagarjuna a superstar. He remade it in Hindi as Shiva (1990), his Bollywood debut.
Hindi Films and the 1990s
Through the 1990s Nagarjuna balanced Telugu stardom with Hindi films, including Khuda Gawah (1992) with Amitabh Bachchan, the bilingual thriller Criminal (1995), Zakhm (1998) and Angaaray (1998). In Telugu he had hits like Hello Brother (1994) and produced and starred in Ninne Pelladata (1996), which won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu.
Annamayya and Devotional Roles (1997–2017)
In K. Raghavendra Rao’s Annamayya (1997), Nagarjuna played the 15th-century saint-composer Annamacharya. The film was a major success and won him a National Film Award special mention, the Nandi Award for Best Actor and the Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Telugu). He returned to devotional cinema as the saint-poet Bhakta Ramadasu in Sri Ramadasu (2006), which won him another Nandi Award for Best Actor, and later played Sai Baba in Shirdi Sai (2012) and the devotee Hathiram Bava in Om Namo Venkatesaya (2017).
The Romantic Star: Manmadhudu and Santosham (2000s)
In the early 2000s he became Telugu cinema’s leading romantic star with Manmadhudu (2002) and Santosham (2002), co-starring Shriya Saran. He also played a soldier in J. P. Dutta’s war film LOC: Kargil (2003) and had action hits such as Mass (2004) and King (2008).
Manam and a Run of Hits (2014–2019)
Vikram Kumar’s Manam (2014) brought three generations of the Akkineni family – ANR, Nagarjuna and Naga Chaitanya – together on screen in ANR’s final film, and became one of the most loved Telugu films of the decade. He followed it with the village comedy Soggade Chinni Nayana (2016), with Ramya Krishnan and Lavanya Tripathi, and Oopiri (2016), the Telugu-Tamil remake of The Intouchables with Karthi, in which he played a wealthy man who is paralysed. Later films include Devadas (2018) with Nani and Manmadhudu 2 (2019) with Rakul Preet Singh.
New Directions: Bangarraju to Coolie (2021–2025)
He played an NIA officer in the action thriller Wild Dog (2021), reunited with Naga Chaitanya in Bangarraju (2022) and played the archaeologist Anish Shetty in the Hindi blockbuster Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva (2022). After The Ghost (2022), his 99th film, Naa Saami Ranga (2024), was a Sankranti success. In 2025 he chose two very different supporting parts: Deepak, an upright ex-CBI officer, in Kuberaa, and the villain Simon in Coolie. He called playing Simon “liberating”, and Rajinikanth said even he could not have played the role better.
Nagarjuna Akkineni Movies List (Selected)
| Year | Film | Language / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Vikram | Telugu – debut as lead |
| 1989 | Geethanjali | Telugu – Mani Ratnam |
| 1989 | Siva | Telugu – Ram Gopal Varma |
| 1990 | Shiva | Hindi – Bollywood debut |
| 1992 | Khuda Gawah | Hindi |
| 1994 | Hello Brother | Telugu – double role |
| 1996 | Ninne Pelladata | Telugu – also producer; National Award |
| 1997 | Annamayya | Telugu – National Award special mention |
| 2002 | Manmadhudu | Telugu |
| 2002 | Santosham | Telugu |
| 2003 | LOC: Kargil | Hindi |
| 2006 | Sri Ramadasu | Telugu – Nandi Award, Best Actor |
| 2008 | King | Telugu |
| 2012 | Shirdi Sai | Telugu |
| 2014 | Manam | Telugu – with ANR and Naga Chaitanya |
| 2016 | Soggade Chinni Nayana | Telugu |
| 2016 | Oopiri / Thozha | Telugu / Tamil |
| 2022 | Bangarraju | Telugu – with Naga Chaitanya |
| 2022 | Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva | Hindi |
| 2024 | Naa Saami Ranga | Telugu – 99th film |
| 2025 | Kuberaa | Telugu / Tamil – Deepak |
| 2025 | Coolie | Tamil – Simon (villain) |
| 2026 | King100 | Telugu – 100th film, 24 December |
Nagarjuna as TV Host: Bigg Boss Telugu
Nagarjuna moved into television hosting with Meelo Evaru Koteeswarudu, the Telugu version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, in 2014–15. He took over Bigg Boss Telugu from season 3 in 2019 and has hosted every season since, as well as the 24-hour OTT edition Bigg Boss Non-Stop (2022), won by Bindu Madhavi. Season 10, launched in September 2026, is his eighth straight season as host.
Businesses: Annapurna Studios and More
With his brother Venkat, Nagarjuna co-owns Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad, founded by their father, and he is president of the non-profit Annapurna College of Film and Media. He was a founding partner in the N Convention events venue, and has co-owned sports teams including the football club Kerala Blasters FC, the Mahi Racing Team India (with MS Dhoni) and the badminton team Mumbai Masters. With Amala he co-founded the animal welfare group Blue Cross of Hyderabad.
Nagarjuna Akkineni Wife, Sons and Personal Life
Nagarjuna’s first marriage, in February 1984, was to Lakshmi Daggubati, daughter of producer D. Ramanaidu; their son Naga Chaitanya was born on 23 November 1986, and the couple divorced in 1990. On 11 June 1992 he married actress Amala, his co-star in films including Siva. Their son, Akhil Akkineni, was born on 8 April 1994.
Both sons are actors. Naga Chaitanya married actress Sobhita Dhulipala at Annapurna Studios on 4 December 2024, and Akhil married artist Zainab Ravdjee in June 2025. Father and sons have shared the screen in Manam and Bangarraju, and Nagarjuna has backed Akhil’s 2026 film Lenin.
Nagarjuna Akkineni Net Worth
Nagarjuna Akkineni has not disclosed his net worth, and there is no official figure. He is often described as one of the wealthiest stars in Telugu cinema, with income from acting, film production, Annapurna Studios, television hosting, brand endorsements such as Kalyan Jewellers, real estate and sports investments. Figures published online vary widely, so treat any number with caution.
Awards and Honours
- National Film Award – Best Feature Film in Telugu, Ninne Pelladata (as producer, 1996)
- National Film Award – Special Mention, Annamayya (1997)
- 10 Nandi Awards, including Best Actor for Annamayya and Sri Ramadasu
- 3 Filmfare Awards South, including Best Actor (Telugu) for Annamayya
- Entertainment Leader Award (Television), TV5 Business Leaders Awards (2015)
Why Nagarjuna Akkineni Stands Out
Few Indian stars have stayed at the top for four decades. Nagarjuna backed new directors such as Ram Gopal Varma early, moved between romance, action and devotional films, crossed into Hindi and Tamil cinema, and built a parallel career as a TV host and businessman. Well into his sixties he is still taking risks – from playing a villain in Coolie to building his 100th film around a new director.
Lesser-Known Facts About Nagarjuna Akkineni
- He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Eastern Michigan University in the US.
- He first appeared on screen as a baby in his father’s film Velugu Needalu (1961).
- Siva (1989) was Ram Gopal Varma’s first film as director.
- Manam (2014) was his father ANR’s last film.
- He co-founded the animal welfare group Blue Cross of Hyderabad with his wife, Amala.
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FAQs About Nagarjuna Akkineni
How old is Nagarjuna Akkineni?
Nagarjuna Akkineni was born on 29 August 1959, so he is 67 years old in 2026.
Who is Nagarjuna’s wife?
Nagarjuna’s wife is actress Amala Akkineni. They married on 11 June 1992.
Who was Nagarjuna’s first wife?
His first wife was Lakshmi Daggubati, daughter of producer D. Ramanaidu. They married in 1984 and divorced in 1990.
How many sons does Nagarjuna have?
Nagarjuna has two sons, both actors: Naga Chaitanya, born in 1986, and Akhil Akkineni, born in 1994.
What is Nagarjuna’s 100th film?
His 100th film is King100, directed by Ra Karthik and produced by Annapurna Studios. It releases on 24 December 2026.
Is Nagarjuna hosting Bigg Boss Telugu 10?
Yes. Nagarjuna is hosting Bigg Boss Telugu season 10, which premiered on 6 September 2026 on Star Maa and JioHotstar.
What was Nagarjuna’s role in Coolie?
He played Simon, the main villain, opposite Rajinikanth in Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Coolie (2025).
How many National Awards has Nagarjuna won?
Nagarjuna has won two National Film Awards: one for producing Ninne Pelladata (1996) and a special mention for his performance in Annamayya (1997).
What is Nagarjuna’s educational qualification?
He has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Eastern Michigan University in the United States.
Who owns Annapurna Studios?
Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad was founded by Akkineni Nageswara Rao and is co-owned by his sons Nagarjuna and Venkat Akkineni.
About This Biography
Written by: MyStarsBio Editorial Team. This profile was checked against the sources listed below and is updated when Nagarjuna Akkineni has new work or major news. Rumours and private family details are not published.
Sources
- Wikipedia – Nagarjuna (actor)
- The Hollywood Reporter India – King100 title and release date (August 2026)
- The Hollywood Reporter India – Ashok Selvan to play antagonist in King100
- NewsX – Bigg Boss Telugu 10 premiere (September 2026)
- The Hollywood Reporter India – Nagarjuna on playing the villain in Coolie