1. Jyothika: Jyothika Sadanah Saravanan, born in Punjab, made her debut in films with “Doli Saja Ke Rakhna” (1998), opposite Akshaye Khanna. The young starlet then followed her sister Nagma to become one of the leading actresses down South and remained a youth icon till she took a bow from acting following her marriage to Suriya. She recently made her comeback with Tamil family drama “36 Vayadhinile”.
2. Simran: Mumbai girl Rishibala Naval aka Simran Bagga made her Bollywood debut with “Tere Mere Sapne” in 1996. In Kollywood, she reigned as the “Lady Superstar” from 1998 to 2004. At the peak of her career, the Punjabi stunner commanded a salary of Rs 75 lakhs! She recently made her Kollywood comeback with Yash Raj Films’ first southern project “Aaha Kalyanam”.
3. Kajal Aggarwal: The Mumbai-based model made her debut in films with “Kyun…! Ho Gaya Na”, in 2004. Three years in the wilderness, the wide-eyed beauty turned to Telugu films and became a star overnight. Her debut in the Telugu movie ‘Lakshmi Kalyanam’ and Tamil movie ‘Pazhani’ gave her a lot of recognition.
4. Rakul Preet Singh: Born in a Punjabi family in New Delhi, Rakul did her schooling from Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan and later studied Mathematics at Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi. Rakul made her debut with the Kannada movie ‘Gilli’ after which she was unstoppable. She then debuted in the Telugu movie ‘Keratam’ and the Tamil movie ‘Thadaiyara Thaaka’.
5. Hansika Motwani: The Mumbai damsel started out as a child artist in Hindi films. The youngster found stardom through the Telugu flick “Desamurudu”, opposite Allu Arjun. She is now one of the most sought-after actresses down south. SHe also made her Tamil debut with the movie ‘Maappillai’ alongside Dhanush.
6. Tamannaah Bhatia: The irrepressible beauty, who is Punjabi by birth, made her debut in Bollywood with “Chand Sa Roshan Chehra” (2005), at the tender age of 13. She then made her Tollywood debut with “Sri”, but it was “Happy Days” (2007) that propelled her to stardom. Her performance in “Kalloori”, “Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam”, “Kanden Kadhalai,” “Paiyaa”, “100% Love” and “Rachcha” have propelled her to the top of south Indian actresses’ list.
7. Khushbu Sundar: Khushboo, who is Punjabi by birth, debuted in films as a child artist in “Thodi Si Bewafaii” (1980). She is one of the most revered actresses in the South; her fans even made a temple in her name. “Khushboo Idli” and “Khushboo Saree” stand testimony to her tremendous popularity.
8. Amala Akkineni: Amala was born and brought up in Kolkata to a Bengali father and Irish mother. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Bharatnatyam from Kalakshetra. She was subsequently persuaded to join films by T. Rajender who visited her home with his sister and convinced her mother to let her act in the film which would be a classical film featuring her Bharat Natyam dancing. She made her debut in the year 1986 with the Tamil movie ‘Mythili Ennai Kadhali’ alongside T Rajendran. She made her Telugu Debut in the movie ‘Pushpaka Vimana’ alongside Kamal Haasan.
9. Taapsee Pannu: Punjabi girl Taapsee made it to the movies with 2010’s Telugu smash hit “Jhummandi Naadam”. She is now one of the most in-demand actresses, across the “woods”. She also made her Kollywood debut with the movie ‘Aadukalam’ alongside Dhanush.
10. Namrata Shirodkar: Marathi Mulgi Namrata Shirodkar, who was Miss India in 1993, debuted in Bollywood with “Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai” (1998). Post her many lackluster Bollywood outings, she decided to try her luck down South. She made her Telugu debut with film, “Vamsee”, opposite superstar Mahesh, who she married later. In 2004, her role in “Bride and Prejudice” came in for much praise.