Daggubati Venkatesh (born 13 December 1960) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work predominantly in Telugu cinema. Venkatesh has a prolific career spanning over 37 years and is known for portraying a variety of characters. He has received many accolades including six Filmfare Awards and five Nandi Awards.

Venkatesh made his debut in 1986 with the commercially successful Kaliyuga Pandavulu. He achieved stardom with box-office hits such as Srinivasa Kalyanam (1987), Brahma Puthrudu (1988), Prema (1989), Dhruva Nakshatram (1989), Bobbili Raja (1990), and Kshana Kshanam (1991), the latter of which featured at the Fribourg Festival and went on to gather a cult following.

Venkatesh received further acclaim for his notable performances as a painter in Swarnakamalam (1988), which featured in the Indian panorama section of the 12th IFFI, an attorney in both Sathruvu (1991) and Dharma Chakram (1996), a coolie in Coolie No. 1 (1991), an eccentric cop in both Surya IPS (1991) and Gharshana (2004), an autistic villager in Chanti (1992), in the romantic dramas: Pavitra Bandham (1996), Preminchukundam Raa (1997), Premante Idera (1998), Raja (1999), Kalisundam Raa (2000), Nuvvu Naaku Nachav (2001), Vasantam (2003), Malliswari (2004), Aadavari Matalaku Arthale Verule (2007), and Bodyguard (2012), in the family dramas: Suryavamsam (1998), Sankranti (2005) and Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu (2013), a journalist in Ganesh (1998), in the action dramas: Jayam Manadera (2000), Lakshmi (2006), Tulasi (2007) and Venky Mama (2021), in the comedies: Chintakayala Ravi (2008), Namo Venkatesa (2010), F2 (2019), F3 (2022), and Sankranthiki Vasthunam (2025), in the crime thrillers Eenaadu (2009), Drushyam (2014) and Drushyam 2 (2021), an atheist in Gopala Gopala (2015), a boxing coach in Guru (2017), and a farmer in Narappa (2021).

Venkatesh also starred in Hindi language works such as Anari (1993), Taqdeerwala (1995), and Rana Naidu (2023). In addition to acting, he co-owns Suresh Productions, one of the largest film production companies in India, under which he acted in several films. He is also the mentor of the Telugu Warriors, representing Tollywood in the Celebrity Cricket League.

Venkatesh was born on 13 December 1960 in a Telugu family to film producer and former Member of Parliament, D. Ramanaidu and Rajeswari in Madras (present-day Chennai), India. He has an elder brother Suresh Babu, who runs Suresh Productions, and a younger sister Lakshmi.

Venkatesh did his schooling in Don Bosco, Egmore, Chennai and graduated in commerce from Loyola College, Chennai. He got his MBA from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, USA. After his return to India, he wanted to get into film production but instead became an actor.

Venkatesh first appeared as a child actor in the 1971 film Prema Nagar. His first film as a full-fledged lead was K. Raghavendra Rao-directed Kaliyuga Pandavulu (1986), alongside Khushbu Sundar which was a debut for both of them. The film won him a Nandi Special Jury Award.

In 1996, he portrayed an honest lawyer in Dharma Chakram, which won him both the Nandi Award and Filmfare Award South. Later that year, he played a husband struggling between two wives in the E. V. V. Satyanarayana directed hit comedy drama Intlo Illalu Vantintlo Priyuralu. In Ganesh (1998), he played a person fighting the ills of the Indian public healthcare system. The following year, he starred in the romantic action film Preminchukundam Raa. The film, which was one of the first portrayals of factionalism in Rayalaseema region, was a big commercial success. His 1999 drama film Raja, where he plays a small time thief who is reformed by his love was also well received by the audience. Following this, he established himself as one of top actors in Telugu cinema.