Manchu Lakshmi Prasanna (born 8 October 1977) is an Indian actress, producer, and television presenter who works in Telugu cinema and worked in American television. The daughter of actor

Mohan Babu Manchu Bhakthavatsalam, credited and also known as Mohan Babu, is an Indian actor and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. An alumnus of the Madras Film Institute, Mohan Babu has acted in more than 500 films in lead, sup ...

, Manchu holds a bachelor's degree in Theatre from Oklahoma City University. She has garnered the

SIIMA Award South Indian International Movie Awards, also known as the SIIMA Awards, rewards the artistic and technical achievements of the South Indian film industry. It was launched in 2012 by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Brinda Prasad Adusimilli to appreci ...

, two

Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassing ...

, and two State Nandi Awards. Manchu made her acting debut with the American television series '' Las Vegas'', where she played the minor role of Sarasvati Kumar, the love interest of James Lesure. She then appeared in one episode of each of the following series: ''

Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Marc Cherry, Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Octobe ...

'', ''Late Nights with my Lover'' and ''

Mystery ER ''Mystery ER'' is a medical reality program, created by Mike Mathis for the Discovery Health Channel Discovery Health Channel was an American subscription television channel. Launched in July 1998, it was owned by Discovery Communications as ...

''. She has also appeared in commercials for Toyota,

AARP AARP (formerly called the American Association of Retired Persons) is an interest group in the United States focusing on issues affecting those over the age of fifty. The organization said it had more than 38 million members in 2018. The magazin ...

and

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

. In 2006, she directed, produced and acted in ''Perfect Lives'', a short film that was showcased at the Wilshire Fine Arts Theater as part of the ''La Femme Film Festival'' in Los Angeles. She made her Theatre debut as

Miss Trunchbull Agatha Trunchbull, also known as Miss Trunchbull or simply The Trunchbull, the fictional headmistress of Crunchem Hall Primary School (or Elementary School), is the main antagonist in Roald Dahl’s 1988 novel ''Matilda'' and its spinoffs: the 199 ...

in the adaptation of Roald Dahl's ''Matilda'', directed by

Taher Ali Baig Taher Ali Baig is an Indian playwright who has marked his directorial debut in theatre in 2014. He has written, directed and produced various house-full plays at venues like Bangalore Club, Secunderabad Club, Hyderabad Golf Club, Lamakaan ...

in 2016.

Early life and family

Lakshmi Manchu is the only daughter of actor

and Vidya Devi. She has two brothers

Vishnu Manchu Manchu Vishnu Vardhan Babu (born 23 November 1982) is an Indian actor and producer known for his works in Telugu cinema and television. Manchu had a brief stint as a child artist with the 1985 film ''Ragile Gundelu''. Years later, he starred in ...

and Manoj Manchu. She was born in Chennai and can speak Tamil, Telugu, and English. Manchu married Andy Srinivasan, an IT professional from Chennai in 2006. The couple has a daughter born through

surrogacy Surrogacy is an arrangement, often supported by a legal agreement, whereby a woman agrees to delivery/labour for another person or people, who will become the child's parent(s) after birth. People may seek a surrogacy arrangement when pregnan ...

. They are settled in Hyderabad.

Career

Having started her career at the age of 4, Manchu has been in 20 feature films in India and few minor television roles in the U.S. She co-owns Sree Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures along with her family members, a production company that has produced fifty-six feature films to date. In December 2011, she was signed on to portray a supporting role in Mani Ratnam's Tamil film '' Kadal'' after a successful audition. Portraying the role of Celina, a poor village woman, she expected this film to be her breakthrough but hardly got offers in Tamil after the film's release.

Filmography

Film

Acting roles

Producer

Television

Acting roles

As a host or judge

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manchu, Lakshmi Living people Indian film actresses Indian women television presenters Indian television presenters Television personalities from Andhra Pradesh Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Telugu television Actresses in Malayalam cinema 21st-century Indian actresses Oklahoma City University alumni Indian emigrants to the United States Nandi Award winners Indian women film producers Film producers from Andhra Pradesh People from Chittoor district Actresses in Tamil cinema Filmfare Awards South winners Businesswomen from Andhra Pradesh 1977 births South Indian International Movie Awards winners