Gautami Tadimalla is an Indian film actress works in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada cinema.she is also an television actress, television host and known costume designer.

 

Gautami was born in West Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh. She made her first appearance at the age of 19 in the Telugu film Dayamayudu, that was produced by her cousin. She was introduced to Tamil films through Guru Shishyan, a film that starred Rajinikanth and Prabhu. She was most active in Tamil cinema from 1988 to 1998 and was a competitor to the other heroines of the time, Kushboo and Bhanupriya. Her filmography includes classics like Apoorva Sagodharargal, Raja Chinna Roja, Thevar Magan, as well as Mani Ratnam's Iruvar (1997), which co-starred Mohanlal, Prakash Raj, Aishwarya Rai, Tabu, Nasser and Revathi.

 

She has done several films in Malayalam, notably His Highness Abdulla (starring Mohanlal), Dhruvam (starring Mammootty), and Daddy (opposite Arvind Swamy). Her role in Sukrutham was penned by M. T. Vasudevan Nair.

 

She has also acted in the Kanadda films Elu Suttina Kote, Chikkejamanru and Cheluva, and in the Hindi films Pyar Hua chori chori, Janata ki Adalat, Haiwan, Admi, Appoo Raja, Trimurti, and Dhaal.

 

She has acted in the Tamil serial Indira in the lead role. She made a guest appearance in the song "Chikku Bukku Railu" with Prabhu Deva in the film Gentleman. She had hosted a talk show in Sun TV titled Anbudan which was launched to compete with Koffee with Anu running on STAR Vijay. She acted in the serial Abhirami which was telecast on Kalaingar TV. She made a comeback to the film industry in the late 2000s as a costume designer for films starring her partner Kamal Haasan. She won the Vijay Award for Best Costume Designer for Dasavathaaram.

 

Gautami was married to businessman Sandeep Bhatia in 1998 with whom she has a daughter Subbalakshmi born in 1999. She divorced Sandeep Bhatia in 1999. Since 2005, she and acclaimed Indian actor Kamal Haasan have been in a live-in relationship. The couple met on the sets of Apoorva Sagodharargal in 1989 and have since remained close friends. She and Kamal have refused to marry each other, citing 'lack of faith in marriage' as the main reason. Gautami was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 35, and successfully fought against it.