https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=List_of_people_from_ChennaiList of people from Chennai - Revision history2026-08-01T06:40:13ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=List_of_people_from_Chennai&diff=472377&oldid=prevRobctr at 13:58, 4 January 20262026-01-04T13:58:46Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{short description|None}}<br />
{{more citations needed|date=July 2015}}<br />
<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2019}}<br />
<br />
The following people were born or based their life in the Indian city of [[Chennai]] (formerly known <br />
as Madras), [[Tamil Nadu]] (formerly known as [[Madras State]]).<br />
{{Dynamic list}}<br />
== Business ==<br />
*[[Aravind Srinivas]], ceo and co-founder of [[Perplexity AI]]<br />
*[[Geeta Aiyer]], entrepreneur and business leader; founder and president of [[Boston Common Asset Management]]<br />
*[[R. G. Chandramogan]], chairman of [[Hatsun Agro Product]]<br />
*[[Natarajan Chandrasekaran]], chairman of the [[TATA Group]]<br />
*[[Anil Kumar]] (born 1958), management consultant who pled guilty to insider trading<br />
*[[K. M. Mammen Mappillai|Rahul Mammen Mappillai]], managing director of [[MRF Limited]]<br />
*[[Kalanithi Maran]], chairman and managing director of the [[Sun Group]]<br />
*[[Dora Metcalf]], entrepreneur, mathematician and engineer<br />
*[[Keshav R. Murugesh]], chief executive officer and director of [[WNS Global Services]]<br />
*[[A. C. Muthiah]], former chairman of Southern Petrochemicals of India Corporation (SPIC)<br />
*[[Shiv Nadar]], founder and chairman of [[HCL Technologies]]<br />
*[[Indra Nooyi]], chairperson and chief executive officer of [[PepsiCo]]<br />
*[[Sundar Pichai]], chief executive officer of [[Google]]<br />
*[[M. A. M. Ramaswamy]], chairman of the [[Chettinad Group of Companies]]; ex-pro chancellor of [[Annamalai University]], [[Chidambaram]]<br />
*[[Prathap C. Reddy]], chairman of [[Apollo Hospitals]]<br />
*[[Naveen Selvadurai]], co-founder of [[Foursquare (company)|Foursquare]]<br />
*[[Mallika Srinivasan]], chairman and managing director of [[Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited]] <br />
*[[N. Srinivasan]], chairman and managing director of [[India Cements]]<br />
*[[Venu Srinivasan]], chairman and managing director of [[TVS Motors]]<br />
*[[A. Vellayan]], chairman of the [[Murugappa Group]]<br />
*[[Jay Vijayan]], founder of [[Tekion Corp]]<br />
*[[C Vijayakumar]], chief executive officer of [[HCL Technologies]]<br />
<br />
== Education ==<br />
*[[Munirathna Anandakrishnan]], former chairman, [[Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur]]; former vice-chancellor, [[Anna University]]<br />
*[[Bala V. Balachandran]], founder, dean and chairman, [[Great Lakes Institute of Management]]<br />
*[[Madhu Bhaskaran]], engineer and professor, [[RMIT University]]<br />
*[[V. L. Ethiraj]], founder, [[Ethiraj College for Women]]<br />
*[[Jeppiaar]], founder, Jeppiaar Educational Trust; founder chancellor, [[Sathyabama University]]<br />
*[[Ramayya Krishnan]], dean, [[Heinz College]]; H. John Heinz III, W. W. Cooper and Ruth F. Cooper Professor of Management Science and Information Systems, [[Carnegie Mellon University]]<br />
*[[V. M. Muralidharan]], chairman, [[Ethiraj College for Women]]<br />
*[[Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy]], founder, [[Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan]]<br />
*[[Vallam Sundar]], professor<br />
*[[Subra Suresh]], president, [[Carnegie Mellon University]]; former dean, School of Engineering [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]]; former director, [[National Science Foundation]]<ref>{{Cite web|title = Leadership at Carnegie Mellon University|url = http://www.cmu.edu/leadership/president-suresh/bio/|website = cmu.edu|accessdate = 4 December 2015}}</ref><br />
<br />
==Environment==<br />
*[[Arun Krishnamurthy]], founder, [[Environmentalist Foundation of India]]<br />
<br />
== Film and other entertainment ==<br />
*[[Ashok Amritraj]], Hollywood producer<br />
*[[Priya Anand]], actress<br />
*[[Allu Arjun]], actor<br />
*[[Mahesh Babu]], actor<br />
*[[S.P. Balasubrahmanyam]], music composer, playback singer<br />
*[[Pete Best]] (born 1941), early [[Beatles]] drummer<br />
*[[Dhanush]], thespian, playback singer, producer<br />
*[[Shivaji Ganesan]], actor; first International Award winner of India<br />
*[[Kamal Haasan]], thespian, director, producer, screenwriter<br />
*[[Shruthi Hassan]], actress<br />
*[[Lisa Haydon]], actress<br />
*[[Mary Hignett]] (born 1916), actress<br />
*[[Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)|Engelbert Humperdinck]] (born 1936), pop singer<br />
*[[Ilaiyaraja]], music composer, symphonic maestro<br />
*[[S. Janaki]], playback singer<br />
*[[Jayabharathi]], actress<br />
*[[Jayasudha]], actress<br />
*[[Kajol]], actress<br />
*[[Rajini Kanth]], actor, producer, screenwriter<br />
*[[Sundeep Kishan]], actor<br />
*[[Vishal Krishna]] (born 1977), actor, film producer<br />
*[[Ajith Kumar]], thespian, racer<br />
*[[Padma Lakshmi]], cookbook writer, actress, model, television host<br />
*[[K. V. Mahadevan]], music composer<br />
*[[Hema Malini]], actress<br />
*[[Lakshmi Manchu]], actress<br />
*[[Lakshmi Narayan]], actress<br />
*[[Siddharth Narayan]], actor<br />
*[[Samantha Ruth Prabhu]], actress<br />
*[[Olive Rae]], soprano, actress<br />
*[[A. R. Rahman]] (born 1966), [[music composer]]; winner of multiple awards, including two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards and a Golden Globe Award<br />
*[[Yuvan Shankar Raja]], first [[Cypress International Award]]-winning creative music composer<br />
*[[Puneeth Rajkumar]], Kannada actor<br />
*[[Shiva Rajkumar]], Kannada actor<br />
*[[Rochelle Rao]], Indian actress, [[Miss India International]] 2012<br />
*[[Rekha]], actress<br />
*[[Santhanam (actor)|Santhanam]], actor<br />
*[[Vijay Sethupathi]], thespian<br />
*[[Sivakarthikeyan]], thespian<br />
*[[Sridevi]], actress<br />
*[[Sripriya]], actress<br />
*[[Srividya]], actress<br />
*[[Sumalatha]], actress<br />
*[[Keerthy Suresh]], actress<br />
*[[Suriya]], thespian<br />
*[[Arvind Swamy]], actor, businessman<br />
*[[Ram Charan Teja]], actor<br />
*[[Trisha (actress)|Trisha]], actress<br />
*[[Vijay (actor)|Vijay]], thespian, actor, playback singer, IARA ([[International Achievement Recognition Award]] winner)<br />
*[[Vikram (actor)|Vikram]], thespian<br />
*[[M. S. Viswanathan]], music composer<br />
*[[Vidya Vox]], YouTuber, musician<br />
*[[Vyjayanthimala]], actress<br />
*[[Vijay Yesudas]] (born 1979), playback singer<br />
<br />
===Directors===<br />
*[[K. Balachander]], Tamil film director<br />
*[[Lokesh Kanagaraj]], Tamil film director<br />
*[[Atlee Kumar]], Tamil and Hindi film director<br />
*[[Nalan Kumarasamy]], Tamil film director<br />
*[[A. R. Murugadoss]], Tamil film director<br />
*[[Mani Ratnam]], Tamil film director<br />
*[[S. Shankar]], Tamil film director<br />
*[[Selvaraghavan]], Tamil film director<br />
*[[Karthik Subburaj]], Tamil film director<br />
*[[Vetrimaran]], Tamil film director<br />
*[[Pa. Ranjith|Pa.Ranjith]], Tamil film director<br />
<br />
== Literature and visual arts==<br />
*[[R.K. Narayan]] (1906–2001), writer<br />
*[[Achuthanand Tanjore Ravi]] (born 1991), photographer<br />
* [[V. D. Trivadi]], humorist<br />
<br />
==Politics==<br />
* [[S. Iswaran|Subramaniam Iswaran]] (born 1962), known as S. Iswaran, Singaporean politician<br />
* [[Pramila Jayapal]], [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. representative]] for [[Washington (state)|Washington]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=JAYAPAL, Pramila |url=https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/J000298 |access-date=October 5, 2025 |website=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref><br />
<br />
== Religion ==<br />
* [[Jesu Pudumai Doss]] (born 1967), Catholic priest; professor and dean, Faculty of Canon Law, [[Salesian Pontifical University]], Rome<br />
* [[Sri Sabhapati Swami]] (born 1840), yogi, writer<br />
<br />
== Scientists ==<br />
*[[Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar]], recipient, [[Nobel Prize in Physics]]<br />
*[[Alan Garnett Davenport]], engineer<br />
*[[Shyamala Gopalan]], breast-cancer researcher; mother of former [[vice president of the United States]] [[Kamala Harris]]<br />
*[[A. P. J. Abdul Kalam]], physicist; former [[president of India]]<br />
*[[Kariamanickam Srinivasa Krishnan]], physicist (co-discoverer of [[Raman scattering]])<br />
*[[C. V. Raman]], recipient, [[Nobel Prize in Physics]]<br />
*[[Srinivasa Ramanujan]], mathematician; [[Fellow of the Royal Society]]<br />
*[[Kannan Soundararajan]], mathematician<br />
*[[Subra Suresh]], engineer, [[materials scientist]], academic<br />
*[[M. S. Swaminathan]], [[geneticist]], [[plant breeder]], administrator and [[humanitarian]]<br />
*[[John Henry Constantine Whitehead]] (1904–1960), British mathematician<br />
<br />
== Social entrepreneurs ==<br />
* [[Kirthi Jayakumar]]<br />
<br />
== Sports ==<br />
*[[Anand Amritraj]] (born 1952), tennis player, businessman<br />
*[[Vijay Amritraj]] (born 1953), tennis player, [[sports commentator]], actor<br />
*[[Viswanathan Anand]] (born 1969), [[Grandmaster (chess)|chess grandmaster]]; undisputed world chess champion from 2007 until 2013<br />
*[[PK Arumugam]], [[speedcuber]]<br />
*[[Ravichandran Ashwin]], cricketer<br />
*[[Naresh Babu]], professorial motorcycle road racer<br />
*[[Hemang Badani]], former cricketer<br />
*[[Subramaniam Badrinath]], former cricketer<br />
*[[Lakshmipathy Balaji]], cricketer<br />
*[[Karun Chandhok]] (born 1984), racing driver, [[Formula One]], [[sports commentator]]<br />
*[[Joshna Chinappa]] (born 1986), squash player, [[British Squash Championship]]<br />
*[[Gukesh Dommaraju]] (born 2006), [[chess grandmaster]]; undisputed [[World Chess Championship 2024|world chess champion since 2024]]<br />
*[[Akbar Ebrahim]] (born 1963), racing driver, cricketer<br />
*[[Edward Foord]] (1825–1899), cricketer<br />
*[[George Gowan]] (1818–1890), cricketer<br />
*[[Nasser Hussain]] (born 1968), former [[cricketer]]<br />
*[[Sharath Kamal]] (born 1982), table-tennis player<br />
*[[Thirush Kamini]], cricketer<br />
*[[Dinesh Karthik]] (born 1985), cricketer<br />
*[[Rajini Krishnan]], motorcycle racer<br />
*[[Ramanathan Krishnan]], tennis player<br />
*[[Ramesh Krishnan]], tennis player and coach<br />
*[[Buchi Babu Naidu]], father of South Indian cricket<br />
*[[M. Baliah Naidu]], cricketer<br />
*[[Dipika Pallikal]] (born 1991), squash player, WISPA titles; first Indian woman to break into the top ten in the [[WSA rankings]]<br />
*[[Aditya Patel]] (born 1988), professional racing driver <br />
*[[R Praggnanandhaa|Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa]] (born 2005), [[chess grandmaster]]<br />
*[[Jack Pritchard (cricketer)|Jack Pritchard]] (1895–1936), cricketer<br />
*[[Mahaveer Raghunathan]] (born 1998), racing driver<br />
*[[W. V. Raman]], former cricketer<br />
*[[Ramkumar Ramanathan]], tennis player<br />
*[[Cotah Ramaswami]], cricketer, tennis player<br />
*[[Sadagoppan Ramesh]], former cricketer<br />
* [[Ravivarman Sharmila]], [[carrom]] champion <br />
*[[Krishnamachari Srikkanth]] (born 1959), former cricketer<br />
*[[Washington Sundar]], cricketer<br />
*[[Roopa Unnikrishnan]], former sports-rifle shooter; [[Commonwealth Games]] gold medalist<br />
*[[Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan]], former cricketer<br />
*[[Murali Vijay]] (born 1984), cricketer<br />
<br />
==Miscellaneous==<br />
*Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah Faizabadi Madrasi or [[Ahmadullah Shah]] (1787–1858), Indian freedom fighter<br />
*General [[Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam]], DSO, MBE (1913–2000), 6th chief of Indian army <br />
*[[Georgiana Fanny Shipley Daniell]], philanthropist <br />
* [[Nugent Grant]], lawyer <br />
* [[Praveena Solomon]], crematorium manager<br />
* [[Abhinandan Varthaman]], wing commander in the [[Indian Air Force]]<br />
<br />
{{Chennai Topics}}<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:People from Chennai| ]]<br />
[[Category:Lists of Indian people by populated place|Chennai]]<br />
[[Category:Chennai-related lists|People]]<br />
[[Category:Lists of people from Tamil Nadu|Chennai]]</div>Robctr