Nithya Menen (born 8 April 1988) is an Indian film actress and playback singer who appears in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi films where she has established herself as a leading actress. She is recipient of three Filmfare Awards for the Telugu films Gunde Jaari Gallanthayyinde, Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju and Mersal in Tamil.
After making her acting debut as a child in the 1998 English film The Monkey Who Knew Too Much, Nithya started her acting career by playing supporting role in Kannada film 7 O' Clock. She made her debut in leading role in Malayalam with Akasha Gopuram, Telugu with Ala Modalaindi and Tamil with 180. In August 2019, she made her Bollywood debut with Mission Mangal.
Nithya Menen was born in Banashankari, Bangalore. She studied journalism at the Manipal University. She once said in an interview that she never wished to become an actress but a journalist, but ultimately found journalism unappealing, so she pivoted to filmmaking, and enrolled in a cinematography course at the Film and Television Institute of India at Pune. During the school's entrance exam, she met B. V. Nandini Reddy, who convinced Menen to take up acting. Reddy would later turn director and sign Nithya for a lead role in her first Telugu film. Even though Menen's mother tongue is Malayalam, she can speak all South Indian languages.