Vijay Deverakonda

Deverakonda Vijay Sai was born in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (present-day Telangana) to Govardhan Rao and Madhavi.^[12][13] His family hails from Thummanpeta village of erstwhile Mahbubnagar district (present-day Nagarkurnool).^[12][14] His father was a television serial director who quit doing them due to lack of success.

Deverakonda completed his schooling from Sri Sathya Sai Higher Secondary School, Puttaparthi.^[15] He then studied Intermediate at the Little Flower Junior College, Hyderabad.^[16] He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Badruka College of Commerce & Arts.^[14][17] His younger brother, Anand Deverakonda, is also an actor in Telugu cinema.^[18]

Vijay Deverakonda and his family lived in Saroornagar, Hyderabad before he entered the Telugu film industry.^[19][20][21]

On 26 February 2026, Deverakonda married actress Rashmika Mandanna in a private ceremony held in Udaipur, Rajasthan in traditional Telugu Hindu and Kodava ceremonies. The wedding was referred to as “The Wedding of VIROSH”. ^[22][23][24]

Deverakonda was the brand ambassador of food delivery app Zomato.^[46] On 15 October 2018, he launched his fashion brand Rowdy Wear.^[9] Later, in 2020 Rowdy Wear was launched on Myntra.^[47]

Deverakonda has donated to relief funds, including a donation to families of victims in the 2019 Pulwama attack.^{[48][49][50][51]}

Deverakonda conceptualised and founded The Deverakonda Foundation, a nonprofit organisation in April 2019.^[52] In early 2020, he donated ₹24,000 through the Foundation to help Ganesh Ambari, a kickboxer who won the Vaco Indian Open International Kick-boxing Championship Title 2020.^[53]

An initiative was started to battle COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The foundation has successfully aided 17,000 middle-class families with their groceries and basic essentials, spending ₹1.7 crores, with the help of his Middle Class Fund (MCF). More than 8,500 volunteers donated over ₹1.5 crores to join his community effort.^[54][55] Organisers decided to end the initiative on 2 June 2020.^[56][57] Devarkonda opened his first multiplex theatre in Mahbubnagar in 2021.^[58]

Deverakonda says his family used to call him a rowdy every time he did something that they did not approve of. Over time, he started using this term for himself and his fans.^[60][61] Deverakonda is known to express his real, honest, and unfiltered opinions on stage or during interviews, for which he has gathered a lot of popularity and criticism,^[62] as seen during his speech at the audio launch of Arjun Reddy, in 2017.^[63][64][65]

Deverakonda placed 72nd in the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list of 2018.^[66] He was ranked in The Times Most Desirable Men at No. 4^[67] in 2018, at No. 3^[68] in 2019, at No. 2^[69] in 2020. He was additionally featured by Forbes India in their 30 Under 30 list,^[70] and became the most-searched South Indian actor according to Google's annual report.^[71] As of August 2024, he is one of the most-followed Telugu actors on Instagram.^[72]

In June 2025, a case under the SC/ST Act was filed against him for his alleged comments against the tribal community following the Pahalgam terror attack.^[73]

On 11 November 2025, Deverakonda, and Prakash Raj were questioned by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) in connection with an ongoing investigation into the alleged promotion of online betting apps. As of November 2025, the case is still under investigation.^[74]