Sameera Reddy

Sameera was born on 14 December 1978 in Bombay (present day Mumbai), Maharashtra^[2] to a Telugu father and a Mangalorean Konkani mother.^[3][4] Her mother Nakshatra,^[5] referred to as Niki by her daughters and the media, was a microbiologist and worked with an NGO.^[6][7] She has two older sisters, Meghna, a former VJ and supermodel,^[8] and Sushama, a Bollywood actress and model.^{[9] [10]} She attended the Bombay Scottish School in Mumbai and graduated from Sydenham College.

Sameera described herself as a "tomboy" and "the ugly duckling in the family", while citing: "I was plump, had glasses and my glam quotient was rather low till I was 19."^[10]

Sameera first appeared in ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas's "Aur Aahista" music video in 1997.^[11] She was meant to make her debut as an actress in Saravana Subbiah's Tamil film Citizen, during the early 2000s, but eventually did not feature.^[12] She made her screen debut in the 2002 Hindi film Maine Dil Tujhko Diya opposite Sohail Khan. It was a box office failure.^[13] Film critic Taran Adarsh noted, "Sameera is plain mediocre. She needs to polish her acting skills, work on her facial expressions and improve diction."^[14]

Following her debut, Sameera earned recognition with her performance in the films: Darna Mana Hai (2003), Musafir (2004), Jai Chiranjeeva (2005), Taxi No. 9211 (2006), Ashok (2006), Race (2008), Vaaranam Aayiram (2008), De Dana Dan (2009), Aakrosh (2010), Nadunisi Naaygal (2011), Vettai (2012) and Tezz (2012). In 2013, Sameera appeared in the Kannada film Varadhanayaka opposite Sudeepa.^[15] The film was a box office success and following this Reddy took a break from acting.^[16] In 2024, her long delayed film Naam was released, where she appeared opposite Ajay Devgn.^[17]

In Taxi No. 9211, she played a businessman's lover opposite John Abraham.^[18] It was a box office success.^[19] In Race, she played a police officer's assistant alongside Anil Kapoor. The film emerged as the fifth-highest-grossing Hindi film of 2008.^[20] Taran Adarsh noted, "Sameera excels as the dumb girl. It's a tough job and she does well."^[21] Reddy earned acclaim for her playing a college topper in Vaaranam Aayiram opposite Suriya.^[22] The film was one of the highest grossing Tamil film of 2008 and got her recognition in South India.^[23] Pavithra Srinivasan noted, "Sameera is full of life and creates a pang in your heart."^[24] A critic from Sify stated she brings an "uninhibited joie" to her role.^[25]

Sameera played a Punjabi woman in De Dana Dan opposite Suniel Shetty.^[26] It became one of the highest grossing Hindi film of 2009.^[27] She played a psychopath's victim in Nadunisi Naaygal opposite Veera, which emerged a surprise success at the box office.^[28][29] Gautaman Bhaskaran found it to be her "career-best" performance.^[30] In Vettai, Reddy played a talkative wife of a police officer opposite R. Madhavan.^[31] Malathi Rangarajan stated, "While Sameera performs well, she could have had a better makeover."^[32] It emerged a commercial success.^[33]

Sameera married Akshai Varde, an entrepreneur, on 21 January 2014, in a traditional Maharashtrian ceremony.^[34][35] They have a son and daughter.^[36][37]

Being a fan of American talk show hostess Oprah Winfrey, Sameera met and presented a saree to Winfrey during her visit to India.^[38]

In Rediff.com's "Best Tamil Actresses" list, Sameera was placed 4th in 2011.^[39] In the Times Most Desirable Women list, Sameera was placed 33rd in 2009, 26th in 2010 and 29th in 2011.^[40][41][42] Femina also placed her in its "50 Most Beautiful Women" list.^[43] Sameera is the first Indian actress to have her own video game, named, "Sameera: The Street Fighter".^[44] Reddy also judged the Miss Sri Lanka Online contest in 2012.^[45]

• List of Hindi film actresses