Ever since her sensational debut in the Kannada campus romantic comedy Kirik Party in 2016, Rashmika Mandanna has been one of the most sought-after actresses in both Sandalwood and Tollywood. Her meteoric rise to stardom has been accompanied by a number of blockbusters and several accolades, including a SIIMA Award and nominations at IIFA and Filmfare Awards. Popularly dubbed by the media as the `Karnataka Crush`, Rashmika`s notable acting credits include Anjani Putra (2017), Chamak (2017) and Geetha Govindam (2018).

Early Life
Born to M. A. Mandanna and Suman Mandanna on 5th of April, 1996 in Virajpet, Karnataka, Rashmika completed her schooling from Coorg Public School. She then went on to attend Mysore Institute of Commerce & Arts to pursue an undergraduate course, following which she moved to Bengaluru to pursue her bachelor`s degree from M. S. Ramaiah College of Arts, Science & Commerce, with her major subjects being journalism, English literature, and psychology. While modeling and acting in movies, Rashmika managed her final year studies in 2016.

While studying, she participated in the Clean & Clear Times Fresh Face of India in 2014, which she went on to win. Following winning the pageant, she won the second season of La Mode Bangalore`s Top Model Hunt in 2015. She started her modeling career soon after winning her first title and was the ambassador of Clean & Clear for a year in 2014, and is also the face of The Wedding Journals of India as of 2016.

Movie Career
After Rashmika won the Clean & Clear Times Fresh Face of India in 2014, she started modeling, owing to which she became a slightly recognized face. She bagged her maiden role opposite Rakshit Shetty in the 2016 comedy-drama Kirik Party. Her portrayal of Saanvi won her immense praise and the movie also went on to become a critical and commercial success, with it having one of the highest openings in Kannada cinema. Following her successful debut, Rashmika was roped in by director Suni for his 2017 project Chamak, where she starred opposite Ganesh. Her performance in the movie earned the actress a Filmfare Award nomination that year.

In 2018, Rashmika debuted in Telugu with the romantic comedy Chalo, where she was paired opposite Naga Shaurya. The film was a critical and commercial success. The Tollywood romantic comedy Geetha Govindam (2018) and the multi-starrer Devadas (2018) are among the actress` other significant film credits in recent times. His 2019 releases include Yajamana and Dear Comrade. She had Bheeshma and Sarileru Neekevvaru in 2020. In 2021, she was associated with Nanda Kishore`s action-thriller film Pogaru. The movie stars Dhruva Sarja and herself in prominent roles. Her other release of the year includes Sulthan, an action-drama film directed by Bakkiyaraj Kannan. Another blockbuster she delivered in 2021 was Pushpa: The Rise. Her other notable works include Aadavallu Meeku Johaarlu (2022), Mission Majnu (2022), Goodbye (2022), Sita Ramam (2022), Thalapathy 66 (2022), Animal (2023), Pushpa 2: The Rule (2024) and Sikandar (2025).