# Nivetha Thomas
**Nivetha Thomas** (also credited as Niveda Thomas) is an Indian actress who works in Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam films. She began as a child artist in [Malayalam cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/malayalam-cinema), winning the Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist for *Veruthe Oru Bharya* (2008), and later established herself in [Telugu cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/telugu-cinema) with films such as *[Gentleman](https://www.edgepedia.org/gentleman-2016-film)* (2016), *Ninnu Kori* (2017), and *Vakeel Saab* (2021).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1995; birthplace reported variously as Kannur, Kerala[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/), Cherupuzha, Kerala[2](https://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/nivetha-thomas.html), or Chennai[3](https://ntvtelugu.com/top-story/nivetha-thomas-birthday-today-77742.html) |
| First award | Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist for *Veruthe Oru Bharya*[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/awards/) |
| Telugu lead debut | *Gentleman* (2016), opposite Nani; won SIIMA Best Female Debut (Telugu) and received a Filmfare Best Actress nomination[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/) |
| Education | Bachelor's degree in Architecture from SRM University, Chennai[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/) |
| Recent recognition | Filmfare Award (Telugu) Best Actress and Telangana Gaddar Film Award Best Actress for *35 Chinna Katha Kaadu*[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/awards/) |
| Family | Her younger brother Nikhil Thomas is making his Telugu debut as a lead actor[5](https://epaper.metroudayam.in/media/2025-12/udayam-english_09.12.2025.pdf) |
## Early career as a child artist
Thomas's screen career began on television. She played the role of Gowri in the Malayalam serial *Sri Raja Rajeswari* (2001), appeared in the Malayalam film *Uthara* (2003), and featured in the Sun TV serial *My Dear Bootham* (2004–2007).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/) A later profile dates her start to the 2000 Tamil show *Raja Rajeswari*, which she began at the age of five, followed by *My Dear Bootham* and *Shivamayam* in 2004.[6](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/telugu/2020/Sep/02/never-strategized-my-career-nivetha-thomas-on-transitioning-from-child-actor-to-lead-roles-2191604.html)
Her film breakthrough came as a child artist in the [Malayalam drama](https://www.edgepedia.org/malayalam-drama) *Veruthe Oru Bharya* (2008), in which she played Jayaram's daughter; the performance earned her the Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/awards/) In 2008 she also appeared in her first Tamil film, *Kuruvi*. Her subsequent Malayalam films included *Chaappa Kurish* (2011) and *Thattathin Marayathu* (2012), and she made her Malayalam debut as a lead actor with *Pranayam* (2011).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/) • [7](https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/tollywood/110421/my-filmography-made-me-the-person-i-am-today-nivetha-thomas.html)
## Transition to lead roles
Thomas moved into prominent Tamil roles with *Poraali* (2011), directed by [Samuthirakani](https://www.edgepedia.org/samuthirakani), in which she played a petrol bunk worker, and *Naveena Saraswathi Sabatham* (2013), in which she played an aspiring singer. She appeared as Mahalakshmi in *[Jilla](https://www.edgepedia.org/jilla)* (2014).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/) In *Papanasam* (2015), the Tamil remake of *Drishyam*, she played [Kamal Haasan](https://www.edgepedia.org/kamal-haasan)'s daughter.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/)
**Telugu cinema.** Her Telugu lead debut came with *Gentleman* (2016), opposite [Nani](https://www.edgepedia.org/nani-actor), for which she won the SIIMA Award for Best Female Debut (Telugu) and received her first Filmfare Award South nomination for Best Actress.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/awards/) She followed it with *Ninnu Kori* (2017), playing Pallavi, which brought a second Filmfare Best Actress nomination, and *Jai Lava Kusa* (2017), in which she played Simran and won the Zee Telugu Apsara Award for Performer of the Year.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/) Other Telugu roles include Aadhya in the thriller *118* (2019), Mithra, an aspiring classical dancer, in Vivek Athreya's dark comedy *[Brochevarevarura](https://www.edgepedia.org/brochevarevarura)* (2019), Apoorva Ramanujan in *V* (2020), and Pallavi in *Vakeel Saab* (2021), the Telugu remake of *Pink*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/) In *Vakeel Saab* she shared the screen with [Pawan Kalyan](https://www.edgepedia.org/pawan-kalyan), and her character Pallavi experiences substantial trauma; she said she evaluated her own performance every two days because the role represented many women.[7](https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/tollywood/110421/my-filmography-made-me-the-person-i-am-today-nivetha-thomas.html)
She has also played daughters of two major Tamil stars: Kamal Haasan in *Papanasam* and Rajinikanth's daughter Valli in *Darbar* (2020).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/) • [8](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/interviews/2020/Jan/08/the-vibes-that-rajini-and-kamal-haasan-exhibit-are-completely-different-nivetha-thomas-on-darbar-16438.html)
## 35 Chinna Katha Kaadu and recent work
After a two-year gap following *Saakini Daakini* (2022), a Telugu remake of the Korean film *Midnight Runners* in which she played police trainee Shalini, Thomas returned with *35: Chinna Katha Kaadu*, directed by Nanda Kishore Emani and presented by [Rana Daggubati](https://www.edgepedia.org/rana-daggubati), which premiered on September 6, 2024.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/) • [9](https://www.dailypioneer.com/uploads/2024/epaper/september/vijayawada-english-edition-2024-09-02.pdf) She played Bala Saraswati in the film.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/) The role brought her the [Filmfare Award for Best Actress](https://www.edgepedia.org/filmfare-award-for-best-actress) in Telugu cinema[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/awards/) and the Telangana Gaddar Film Award for Best Actress. In a 2025 interview she reflected on the roles that shaped her and on representation on screen, saying that *Veruthe Oru Bharya* came about after someone saw her in a serial.[10](https://www.newindianexpress.com/amp/story/cities/hyderabad/2025/Jun/12/nivetha-thomas-wants-more-saraswatis-on-screen)
## Approach to roles
Thomas has described her career as unplanned. "I never had a strategy because I never planned to become an actor," she said in 2020, adding that her early television work made the transition to films "extremely seamless".[6](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/telugu/2020/Sep/02/never-strategized-my-career-nivetha-thomas-on-transitioning-from-child-actor-to-lead-roles-2191604.html) In a 2019 interview around *Brochevarevarura*, she said she did not mind waiting for good roles and did not want to be typecast.[11](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/interviews/2019/Jun/25/nivetha-thomas-i-dont-mind-waiting-for-good-roles-12526.html) During the COVID-19 period she said she was willing to reduce her remuneration to support producers and the industry, and expressed interest in playing characters with negative shades.[12](https://telugu.filmibeat.com/interviews/nivetha-thomas-about-reduce-of-remuneration-negative-roles-and-v-movie-090075.html)
## Personal life
Thomas completed her schooling in Chennai at Holy Angels and Montfort Matriculation School and graduated from SRM University, Chennai, with a [Bachelor's degree](https://www.edgepedia.org/bachelors-degree) in [Architecture](https://www.edgepedia.org/architecture).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/) She was brought up in Chennai and continued her education there while acting.[2](https://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/nivetha-thomas.html) Her listed height is 5 feet (1.52 m), her mother is Lilly Thomas, and her sibling is Nikhil Thomas.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/)
## References
1. [Nivetha Thomas, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/)
2. [Nivetha Thomas: Age, Net Worth, Movies, Family, and Personal Details, FilmiBeat](https://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/nivetha-thomas.html)
3. [Nivetha Thomas birthday profile, NTV Telugu](https://ntvtelugu.com/top-story/nivetha-thomas-birthday-today-77742.html)
4. [Nivetha Thomas – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3223429/awards/)
5. [Nivetha Thomas' brother Nikhil Thomas set for debut with 'Bengaluru Mahanagaramlo Balaka', Udayam English](https://epaper.metroudayam.in/media/2025-12/udayam-english_09.12.2025.pdf)
6. [Never strategized my career: Nivetha Thomas on transitioning from child actor to lead roles, The New Indian Express](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/telugu/2020/Sep/02/never-strategized-my-career-nivetha-thomas-on-transitioning-from-child-actor-to-lead-roles-2191604.html)
7. [My filmography made me the person I am today: Nivetha Thomas, Deccan Chronicle](https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/tollywood/110421/my-filmography-made-me-the-person-i-am-today-nivetha-thomas.html)
8. [Nivetha Thomas on Darbar, Cinema Express](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/interviews/2020/Jan/08/the-vibes-that-rajini-and-kamal-haasan-exhibit-are-completely-different-nivetha-thomas-on-darbar-16438.html)
9. [Nivetha Thomas returns with 35: Chinna Katha Kaadu, The Pioneer](https://www.dailypioneer.com/uploads/2024/epaper/september/vijayawada-english-edition-2024-09-02.pdf)
10. [Nivetha Thomas wants more Saraswatis on screen, The New Indian Express](https://www.newindianexpress.com/amp/story/cities/hyderabad/2025/Jun/12/nivetha-thomas-wants-more-saraswatis-on-screen)
11. [Nivetha Thomas: I don't mind waiting for good roles, Cinema Express](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/interviews/2019/Jun/25/nivetha-thomas-i-dont-mind-waiting-for-good-roles-12526.html)
12. [Nivetha Thomas on remuneration, negative roles and V movie, Telugu FilmiBeat](https://telugu.filmibeat.com/interviews/nivetha-thomas-about-reduce-of-remuneration-negative-roles-and-v-movie-090075.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Indian and South Asian film actors by industry and language › Telugu film actors › Surnames S to Z*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license