Meet actor disowned by father, adopted two specially-abled kids at 20, doctor by profession and is a pan-Indian star now
This actress has strived for pan-Indian recognition at the moment and is one of the leading stars among her contemporaries. Within a remarkably short time in her career, she has had the opportunity to work with some of the most prominent filmmakers and actors in Indian cinema. The starlet enjoys a massive fan following and is also known for holding an alternate career in medicine.
Can you guess who we are speaking about here? Yes, it's Sreeleela.
Who is Sreeleela?
Born on June 14, 2001, she hails from a Telugu-speaking family based in Detroit, United States. However, Sreeleela was raised extensively in Bangalore and has been closely influenced by her maternal grandparents since childhood, who reside in Ongole, Andhra Pradesh.
Sreeleela was disowned by her father
Speaking about her parents, Sreeleela was born to her mother, Swarnalatha, who is one of the leading gynaecologists from Bangalore. She was married to industrialist Surapaneni Subhakara Rao.
However, Sreeleela was born after Swarnalatha's divorce. Back in October 2018, Surapaneni Subhakara Rao held a press meeting and openly disowned being the father of the Guntur Kaaram actress.
He clarified that Sreeleela was born to his ex-wife after their separation, and therefore, she was not his daughter.
Work as a child artist and trained Bharatnatyam dancer
Coming back to her career, from a very young age, Leela aspired to and was trained in Bharatanatyam. Later, at the age of 16, she made her debut as a child artist in the Telugu film Chitrangada in 2017.
She played the younger version of the female lead, which brought her to the attention of filmmakers, which eventually led to her securing her first lead role.
Debut in films as lead actress
Finally, it was in 2019 that Sreeleela landed her first lead role in the movie Kiss, which proved successful at the box office. The diva was still in her pre-university course when the film was released and became a hit.
Subsequently, she went on to secure several movie offers over the years, pairing up with actors such as Ram Pothineni, Nandamuri Balakrishna, and others. In 2024, she bagged the mega offer of Guntur Kaaram opposite Mahesh Babu, which was a game-changing move in her career.
Sreeleela holds an MBBS degree
Besides being an actress, Sreeleela also has an alternative identity as a doctor. She obtained her medical degree in 2021 from the Apollo Medical College in Hyderabad. Her mother, a gynecologist, inspired her to pursue this profession, which she has been carefully balancing with her acting career.
Sreeleela adopted two kids at the age of 20
In February 2022, Sreeleela made headlines when she adopted two specially abled kids, a boy named Guru and a girl named Shobhita. As per a TOI report, the starlet had visited an orphanage and was so moved by seeing the two of them that she immediately decided to adopt them, caring for them for a lifetime.
Sreeleela, as a leading pan-Indian star now
Post 2024, fans witnessed the phenomenal growth of Sreeleela as an actress. She paired up opposite Allu Arjun in Pushpa 2 for a song titled Kissik, which brought unmatched fame to her way.
Fast forward to now, she will be making her Bollywood debut opposite Kartik Aaryan in an Anurag Basu-directed movie, which is yet to be titled. Besides this, she has films like Parasakthi with Sivakarthikeyan, Ustaad Bhagat Singh with Pawan Kalyan, and Lenin with Akhil Akkineni lined up next.
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