Daggubati Venkatesh is an Indian film actor who predominantly works in the Telugu film industry. The popular actor first appeared on screen as a child artist at the age of 11 and since then has been a part of several successful movies such as Sahasa Veerudu Sagara Kanya (1996), Pavitra Bandham (1996), Nuvvu Naaku Nachav (2001), Drushyam (2014), and Gopala Gopala (2015). Apart from being an actor, Venkatesh is a producer as well and is the co-owner of Suresh Productions.

Early Life
Venkatesh was born to the popular film producer Ramanaidu Daggubati and Rajeshwari in Andhra Pradesh. He has two siblings: a younger sister, Lakshmi, and an elder brother Suresh Babu Daggubati, who is a producer and manages Suresh Productions. After completing his schooling from Don Bosco, Chennai, the actor graduated from Loyola College, Chennai, with a Bachelors degree in Commerce. He later pursued MBA from the Monterey Insititute of International Studies, USA.

Personal Life
Venkatesh is married to Neeraja and the couple has three children: Hayavahini, Aashritha, Bhavana, and Arjun.

Movie Career
Venkatesh made his acting debut when he was just 11, with the movie Prem Nagar (1971). This was his sole movie as a child artist. He had no intentions of becoming an actor and rather wanted to become a film producer. However, after completing his MBA, the actor was offered a role in the movie Kaluyuga Pandavulu (1986), which was highly successful at the box office. The actor impressed the critics and audience with his performance in the movie and also won the Nandi Award for Best Male Debut. Later, he was praised for his role in the 1988 movie Brahma Putrudu, which went on to become a blockbuster at the box office. Venkatesh went on to win his second Nandi award, a year later, for the romantic movie Prema (1989). The following year he delivered another hit, Bobbili Raja (1990), which also stars Divya Bharti. He won his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance in the movie.

In 1991, he appeared in the Ram Gopal Varma`s path-breaking neo-noir film Kshana Kshanam, also starring Sridevi. The movie received critical and commercial acclaim and went on to become a sleeper hit in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Later, Venkatesh was seen in critically acclaimed movies such as Shatravu(1990) and Surya IPS (1991). His success in the South Indian film industry earned him opportunities in Bollywood as well. Soon, Venkatesh made his Bollywood debut with the movie Anari (1993), opposite Karishma Kapoor, which was a box office hit. His next Bollywood movie Taqdeerwala was released in 1995 and was a commercial hit.

In 1996, Venkatesh won a Filmfare and Nandi Award for his performance in the movie Dharma Chakram directed by Suresh Krishna. The performance of both the lead actors, Venkatesh and Soundarya, were highly acclaimed by the critics. Continuing to be a part of hit movies, the actor then appeared in two blockbuster hits in consecutive years: Preminchukundam Raa in 1997, and Suryavansam in 1998 both the movies were romantic dramas. The year 1998 also saw him star in a critically acclaimed thriller, Ganesh. The actor, for the second time in his career, won both the Filmfare Award and the Nandi Award for Best Actor. In the year 2000, the actor appeared another two commercial and critically acclaimed movies: Kalisundham Raa opposite Simran, and Jayam Manade Raa, which also stars Soundarya and Bhanupriya. The former won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film while the latter fetched him Filmfare Award for Best Actor.

Through the years the actor has appeared in several blockbuster romantic and family dramas such as Prematha Rao (2001), Nuvvu Naaku Nachav (2001), Malliswari (2004), Sankranthi (2005), and Chintakayala (2008). In 2010, Venkatesh starred in the horror comedy film Nagavali. The movie that also features Anushka Shetty, Richa Gangopadhyay, Shraddha Das, Poonam Kaur, and Kamalinee Mukherjee is a sequel to the 2005 movie Chandramukhhi. Venkatesh`s 2015 movie Drushyam, a remake of the 2013 Malayalam film Drishyam, opened to positive reviews and was one of the highest grossing Telugu movies of the year. His first movie of 2016, Babu Bangaram, directed by Maruthi, was released on 12th August and received a decent opening at the box office. His 2019 releases include F2 and Venky Mama. His other notable works include Narappa (2021), Drushyam 2 (2021), F3: Fun and Frustration (2022), Ori Devuda (2022) and Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan (2023).