Akkineni Nagarjuna (born 29 August 1959) is an Indian actor best known for his works primarily in Telugu cinema, as well as in a few Hindi and Tamil films. He has appeared in over 90 films and is a recipient of two National Film Awards for Ninne Pelladata (1996) and Annamayya (1997). Nagarjuna has also won ten Nandi Awards and three Filmfare Awards South. In 2013, he represented the Cinema of South India at the Delhi Film Festival's 100 Years of Indian Cinema's celebration. In 1995, he ventured into film production, with a production unit operating in Seychelles, and was a co-director of an Emmy Award-winning film animation company called Heart Animation. Nagarjuna is the co-owner of Annapurna Studios and is also the president of the non-profit film school Annapurna College of Film and Media based in Hyderabad.

In 1989, Nagarjuna starred in Mani Ratnam's romantic blockbuster Geethanjali, which won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. In the same year, he appeared in a bigger hit Siva, an action film directed by Ram Gopal Varma; featured at the 13th IFFI' 90. Nagarjuna went on to establish himself as a star in Telugu cinema by starring in highly successful films of varied genres, such as President Gari Pellam (1992), Rakshana (1993), Varasudu (1993), Allari Alludu (1993), Hello Brother (1994), Gharana Bullodu (1995), Ninne Pelladata (1996), Annamayya (1997), Nuvvu Vasthavani (2000), Ninne Premistha (2000), Santosham (2002), Manmadhudu (2002), Nenunnanu (2004), Mass (2004), Sri Ramadasu (2006), Don (2007), King (2008), Manam (2014), Soggade Chinni Nayana (2016), Oopiri (2016) and Bangarraju (2022). His notable ventures in other languages, include Hindi films, Shiva (1990), Khuda Gawah (1992), Zakhm (1998), Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva (2022) and the Tamil film, Coolie (2025).

Akkineni Nagarjuna was born on 29 August 1959 at St. Isabel's Hospital in Madras (present-day Chennai), into a Telugu speaking family of veteran actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Annapurna (née Kollipara ) . He was the youngest of 5 kids . His family hails from Ramapuram in Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh.

The family later moved to Hyderabad, where he did his schooling in Hyderabad Public School and intermediate education from Little Flower Junior College, Hyderabad. He completed the first year of his Mechanical Engineering undergraduation at the College of Engineering, Guindy, Anna University in Madras, where former Indian cricketer Krishnamachari Srikanth was his college mate. He then transferred to Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.

Nagarjuna stepped into the field of acting as an infant in the movie Velugu Needalu (1961). He began acting as a child artist in Sudigundalu (1967) directed by Adurthi Subba Rao. Both movies starred his father Akkineni Nageswara Rao in the lead role. Years later he made his debut as a lead actor through the 1986 Telugu film Vikram, directed by V. Madhusudhana Rao. It is the remake of the 1983 Hindi film Hero. The film was a success, giving Nagarjuna a good start. Later, he starred in films like Majnu, directed by Dasari Narayana Rao, which was well received. Nagarjuna got positive reviews for his portrayal of a heartbroken man. He then starred in Sankeertana, a below average grosser directed by debutant Geetha Krishna with music by Ilaiyaraaja. The film was appreciated for its content and music. In 1988, he starred in the blockbuster Aakhari Poratam, scripted by Yandamuri Veerendranath, and directed by K. Raghavendra Rao where he was paired opposite Sridevi and Suhasini. In 1988, he starred in Janaki Ramudu alongside Vijayashanti was directed again by K. Raghavendra Rao.

In 1989, he starred in the Mani Ratnam-directed romantic drama Geetanjali. The film won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment in 1990. Immediately, he saw another success, Siva. This film marked the debut of director Ram Gopal Varma. This film is considered a trendsetter in Telugu cinema, and made Nagarjuna a superstar. In 1990, he subsequently made his Bollywood debut with the Hindi remake of the same film titled Shiva. Even the Hindi version saw huge box-office success. He followed it up with sub fare like Prema Yuddham, Iddaru Iddare and Nirnayam. He then starred in Jaitra Yatra, for which he received critical acclaim.

He followed it up with box office hits like Nirnayam (1991), Killer (1992) and working with eminent directors such as Fazil and Priyadarshan. Nagarjuna was fondly called "Celluloid Scientist" for his nature of experimenting with different scripts. Some of his prominent hit films released subsequently included President Gari Pellam (1992), Varasudu (1993), Allari Alludu (1993), Hello Brother (1994) and Gharana Bullodu (1995). Many of his films were also dubbed into Tamil.

He starred in his first Hindi-Telugu bilingual Criminal directed by Mahesh Bhatt. In 1996, Nagarjuna starred opposite actress Tabu and produced Ninne Pelladata, directed by Krishna Vamsi. The movie won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu and Filmfare Award for Best Film – Telugu. The next year, Nagarjuna acted in Annamayya (1997), in which he portrayed the role of Annamacharya, a 15th-century Telugu singer and poet. This won him his Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu and his first Nandi Award for Best Actor. He also received a National Award for this role. Later that year, he starred in the Tamil film Ratchagan, directed by Praveen Gandhi. In 1998, he appeared in the romantic comedy Aavida Maa Aavide and then plays as lead role in the Hindi action Angaaray with Akshay Kumar. He co-starred with Ajay Devgn in the drama film Zakhm. In 1999, he was seen in two films Seetharama Raju and Ravoyi Chandamama.