Vikram (Actor) Height, Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography

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Wife: Shailaja Balakrishnan

Hometown: Chennai

Age: 59 Years

Bio/Wiki
Real name	Kennedy John Victor
Nickname(s)	Vikram, Chiyaan Vikram, Kenny, Kennedy
Profession(s)	Actor, Singer, Dubbing Artist
Known As	Man of Steel
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	5' 7" (170 cm)
Eye Colour	Brown
Hair Colour	Black
Career
Debut	Film (Tamil; As an actor): En Kadhal Kanmani (1990) as Vinod Film (Malayalam; As an actor): Dhruvam (1993) as Bhadran Film (Telugu; As an actor): Akka Pettanam Chelleli Kapuram (1993) as Radha Krishna Film (Hindi; As an actor): Raavan (2010) as Dev Pratap Sharma Film (Tamil; As a singer): "Yaamirukka Bayamein" from Sri (2002) Film (Telugu; As a singer): "Ivannee Dupe," "Mambo Mamiya," "Meow Meow" from Kanthaswamy/Mallanna (2009) Film (Telugu; As a singer): Amaravathi (1993; Tamil to Telugu dubbing for the actor Ajith Kumar )
Awards & Honours	Filmfare Awards South (Tamil) • 1999: Special Award for Sethu • 2001: Best Actor – Tamil for Kasi • 2003: Best Actor – Tamil for Pithamagan • 2005: Best Actor – Tamil for Anniyan • 2010: Best Actor – Tamil for Raavanan • 2011: Best Actor (Critics) – Tamil for Deiva Thirumagal • 2015: Best Actor – Tamil for I Tamil Nadu State Film Awards • 1999: Special Jury Award for Sethu • 2003: Best Actor for Pithamagan • 2006: Best Actor for Sivaji Ganesan Award • 2010: Best Actor for Raavanan Vijay Awards • 2006: Icon of the Year • 2010: Best Actor for the Tamil film Raavanan • 2011: Best Actor for the Tamil film Thirumagal Other Awards • 2001: Cinema Express Award - Best Actor for the Tamil film Kasi • 2002: International Tamil Film Award- Best Actor for Tamil film Gemini • 2003: CineMAA Award- South India's Best Actor for the Tamil films Sivaputrudu/Pithamagan • 2003: National Film Award for Best Actor for the Tamil film Pithamagan • 2010: Amrita TV-FEFKA Film Award- Best Actor – Tamil for the Tamil film Raavanan • 2011: Vikatan Award- Best Actor for the Tamil film Deiva Thirumagal • 2011: Jaya Award- Jury awards- Best Actor for the Tamil film Deivathirumagal • 2011: South Indian International Movie Award- Best Actor (Special Appreciation) for the Tamil film Deiva Thirumagal • 2011: Honorary Doctorate Università Popolare degli Studi di Milano (People's University of Milan) • 2012: Edison Award for Best Actor for the Tamil film Thaandavam • 2015: South Indian International Movie Award- Best Actor for the Tamil film I • 2015: Asianet Film Award- Popular Tamil Actor for the Tamil film I • 2016: SIIMA Best Actor Award for the Tamil film I • 2017: Doctorate in the history of the European Universities, in acting
Personal Life
Date of Birth	17 April 1966 (Sunday)
Age (as of 2025)	59 Years
Birthplace	Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Zodiac sign	Aries
Signature
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Chennai, Tamil Nadu
School	Montfort School, Yercaud, Tamil Nadu
College/University	Loyola College, Chennai
Educational Qualification(s)	• Graduation in English Literature at Loyola College, Chennai • MBA
Religion	Half Christian (from father's side) and half Hindu (from mother's side) check sources The Times of India
Address	18, Murali St, Mahalingapuram, Chennai
Tattoo	On his left bicep: Sun tattoo with a chain
Controversies	• Criticised for Disrespecting His Fans In 2016, he was invited at the 36th India Day Parade in New York as a chief guest. However, the organiser Mr. Swamy criticised him for being disrespectful to the Indians in New York. Swamy took to his Facebook account and uploaded a post in which he said that he did not invited Vikram to be ungrateful to his fans there, Swamy said that Vikram was on his phone all the time and even behaved arrogantly with them. check sources JFW Online • Tiff With Anurag Kashyap In 2023, there were rumours of his tiff with the Indian film director Anurag Kashyap . Anurag said that he had initially decided to make the film 'Kennedy' with Vikram in lead role. However, even after several attempts, Vikram did not respond to him. Whereas, Vikram said that he was unaware of it. check sources The News Minute
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Affairs/Girlfriends	Shailaja Balakrishnan
Marriage Date	Year, 1992 Note: It was a mass marriage event in Guruvayur Temple, Kerala. Later, they had a small wedding function at the church at Loyola College, Chennai.
Family ADVERTISEMENT
Wife/Spouse	Shailaja Balakrishnan (psychology teacher)
Children	Son- Dhruv Vikram (actor; born in 1997) Daughter- Akshita (married Manu Ranjith, the great-grandson of M. Karunanidhi ; born in 1993)
Parents	Father- John Victor a.k.a Vinod Raj (actor; deceased) Mother- Rajeshwari (sub-collector)
Siblings	Brother- Arvind (younger, actor) Sister- Anita (younger, teacher)
Other relative(s)	• Maternal Uncle- Thiagarajan (director, actor) • Maternal Cousin- Prashanth (director, actor)
Favourites
Actor(s)	Rajnikanth , Robert De Niro , Kamal Hassan , Mammootty , Mohanlal
Actress(es)	Sandra Bullock , Meryl Streep , Julia Roberts
Film Director	Dharani
Singer(s)	Yanni, Michael Bolton
Food	Pazhya Sadam, Karruvattu Kolambu
Colour	Black
Style Quotient
Car Collection	• Audi R8 • Toyota Land Cruiser Prado • Audi Q7 • Audi A4 • Porsche Turbo
Money Factor
Salary/Fees (approx.)	• Rs 10-12 crore per film (as of 2022) • Rs 1.5 crore per brand endorsement (as of 2022)
Net Worth (approx.)	Rs 151 crore (as of 2022))
Social Media
Instagram	Vikram
Twitter	Vikram

Some Lesser Known Facts About Vikram

Vikram grew up in Chennai.

Vikram’s childhood picture
His father left his home to become an actor but only got supporting roles instead of leading roles. His father’s struggle inspired him to become an actor.
Up to class 8, he was good at studies. He then started developing more interest in films after which his grades in school started declining. check sources Rediff

Vikram in his teens
In his teens, he started his training in karate, swimming, and dancing. He used to participate in various extra-curricular activities as he used to believe that it would help him in making his acting career.

Vikram in his younger days
While in school, he used to assist in the backstage work of his school’s theatre club. He got the opportunity to play the lead role in a school play when the lead actor of the play was diagnosed with chicken pox.
After completing school, he wanted to try his luck in films. However, his father wanted him to complete his higher studies.
While in college, he joined the dramatics club and performed in various theatre plays like The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial and Peter Shaffer’s Black Comedy for which he received the Best Actor award.

Vikram in his younger days
After he won the Best Actor Award at IIT Madras, he met with an accident. His motorcycle was hit by a truck after which he suffered leg injuries. He was in hospital for around three years. He had around 23 surgeries. During this phase, he became friends with Shailaja (his wife).
After recovering from his injury, he completed his final year of college.
He then started his career as a model and appeared in various TV commercials like Chola Tea, TVS Excel, and Alwyn watches.

Vikram in Chola Tea ad
In 1988, he appeared in the Tamil TV serial ‘Galatta Kudumbam,’ which aired on Sun TV. Simultaneously, he was pursuing an MBA. When he was in the final year of his MBA, he got an offer for his first Tamil film.
He was also offered the role played by Arvind Swami in Mani Ratnam ’s film Bombay, but he refused because he had to shave his beard, which he could not do as he was working in some other film and could not change his look.
In 1999, he came into the limelight with the Tamil film ‘Sethu.’ He played the role of Sethu (Chiyaan) in the film and after the release of the film, his fans started calling him Chiyaan. He shaved his head, lost 21 kg of weight, and grew long nails for his role in the film.

Vikram in a still from the film Sethu
He has appeared in various Malayalam films like ‘Mafia’ (1993), ‘Sainyam’ (1994), ‘Indraprastham’ (1996), ‘Mayoora Nritham’ (1996), and ‘Indriyam’ (2000).

Vikram in a still from the film Sainyam
Vikram has dubbed for South Indian actors in various South Indian films like ‘Ennamo Nadakkuthu’ (1993), ‘Paasamalargal’ (1994), ‘Raasaiyya’ (1995), ‘Ini Ellam Sugame’ (1998), and ‘Kandukondain Kandukondain’ (2000).
Vikram has also acted in a few Telugu films such as ‘Chirunavvula Varamistava’ (1993), ‘Bangaru Kutumbam’ (1994), ‘Ooha’ (1996), ‘9 Nelalu’ (2000), and ‘Youth’ (2001).

Ooha
He has also appeared in ‘Chinna Chinna Aasaigal – Aarambam’ (1995; Tamil TV series) and ‘Siragugal’ (2000; Tamil TV film).
Vikram has lent his voice to many Tamil songs like “O Podu” from the film ‘Gemini’ (2002), “Meghame O Meghame” from the film ‘Madrasapattinam’ (2010), “Maria Pitache” from the film ‘David’ (2013), “Pudhu Metro Rail” from the film ‘Saamy Square’ (2018), and “Theesudar Kuniyuma” from ‘Kadaram Kondan’ (2019).
He has acted in many popular Tamil films including ‘Saamy’ (2003), ‘Pithamagan’ (2003), ‘Iru Mugan’ (2016), ‘Ponniyin Selvan: I’ (2022), and ‘Ponniyin Selvan: II’ (2023).

Vikram’s different looks from his films
He once shared that his role as Chithan (gravedigger) in the 2003 Tamil film ‘Pithamagan,’ was one of the toughest roles of his career.
In 2005, he played the role of Ramanujam (Ambi) (Remo/Anniyan) a split personality for which she received appreciation from the audience and critics. The film was later dubbed in Telugu as ‘Aparichithudu’ and in Hindi as ‘Aparichit: The Stranger.’

Vikram’s different looks from the film Anniyan
In 2010, he was featured in the national integration music video “Mile Sur Mera Tumhara.”
He has sung various Telugu songs like “Kadha Cheputhane” & “Pa Pa Pappa” from the film ‘Nanna’ (2011) and “Laddu Laddu” from the film ‘Veedinthe’ (2011).

Laddu Laddu
In 2012, for his role as a blind man in the Tamil film ‘Thaandavam,’ he did his training under human echolocation specialist Daniel Kish.
In the same year, he was featured in a few Tamil music videos like “One – The Unity Song” and “Vanakkam Vaazhavaikum Chennai.”

Vikram in Vanakkam Vaazhavaikum Chennai
In 2013, he appeared in the Hindi film ‘David’ as David (Sakku/Kirku Santa).
For his 3 different looks in the Tamil film ‘I’ in 2015, he shaved off his head and lost 25 kg of weight. For his one look, he had to build a body like a bodybuilder.

Vikram’s looks from the film I
For his role as a developmental disability person in the Tamil film ‘Deiva Thirumagal’ (2011), he spent time with mentally challenged people for a month to get into the character.

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Deiva Thirumagal
He is the brand ambassador of Sanjeevani Trust, Vidya Sudha (special children school) and also supports The Banyan charity.
He has been supporting various social welfare programmes like the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, Kasi Eye Care, and Spirit of Chennai.
He has also started his NGO named Vikram Foundation.
He has appeared in TV commercials for various brands like Big Deal TV, 3 Roses, Manappuram Gold Loan, Coca-Cola, and Josco Jewellers.
He once shared that he disliked his name, and he decided to use his screen name as Vikram; “Vi” from Victor (his father’s name) “K” from Kennedy, “Ra” from his mother’s name and “M” from his sun sign, Aries (mesh in hindi). check sources The Times of India
His fans often consider him Christian Bale (Hollywood actor) of South India for his body transformation for various roles in his films. check sources Hindustan Times
He has also worked as an assistant director in a few films.
In 2012, his Tamil film ‘Raavanan’ became one of the first Indian films to be dubbed in German. check sources Hindustan Times
He is an avid animal lover and owns a few pet dogs named Akki and Leo.

Vikram with his pet dog
In his leisure time, he enjoys travelling.

Vikram during his vacation
Once, he used to be a chain smoker.
He has been featured on the cover of various magazines like Southscope, Jade, Malaysian Cine, and Galatta Cinema.

Vikram featured on South Scope magazine
In 2016 and 2018, he was listed in Forbes Top 100 Indian celebrities list.
In 2017, he said something about the Indian actor Rana Daggubati in a media interaction which Rana didn’t like. Later, Vikram apologised to him.
He regularly works out at a gym to maintain his fitness.

Vikram at a gym
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Vikram (Actor) Height, Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography

Vikram (Actor) Height, Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Vikram

References/Sources