Divyaa Unni

Divyaa Unni
Unni
Born	(1981-09-02) 2 September 1981 (age 40) Cochin, Kerala, India
Occupation	Actress, Indian classical dance performer and teacher
Years active	1987-2018
Spouse(s)	Sudhir Sekharan Menon ​ ​ (m. 2002; div. 2017)​ Arun Kumar ​ (m. 2018)​
Relatives	Vidhya Unni (sister) Meera Nandan (cousin) Remya Nambeesan (cousin)

Divyaa Unni is an American film actress and classical dancer who teaches various forms of dance such as Bharathanatyam, Kuchipudi and Mohiniyattom.

Early life[]

Divyaa Unni was born to Ponnethmadhatil Unnikrishnan and Kizhkemadhatil Uma Devi at Kochi, Kerala, India. Her mother Uma Devi, is a Sanskrit teacher and is the Head of Sanskrit Department; at Bhavans Vidya Mandir, Girinagar & was awarded the National Award for Teachers (India),^[1][2] in the year 2013 by the President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee. She has a sister, Vidhya Unni, who has worked as a lead in couple of Malayalam movies. Divyaa completed her schooling in Bhavan's Vidya Mandir, Girinagar.

She graduated with a bachelor's degree in Communicative English from St. Teresa's College, Ernakulam. Divyaa is related (cousin) to Malayalam actress Meera Nandan and Remya Nambeesan.

Post her wedding, she quit cinema and got settled in the US. Divya Unni tied the knot with Arun Kumar in 2018, an engineer from the USA. The couple was blessed with a baby girl on January 14, 2020. The actress has two kids in her first marriage as well.^[3]

Film career[]

Divyaa has acted as a lead in over 50 films in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.

As a child, Divyaa got her first break in the film Neeyethra Dhanya (1987) when she was a student in second grade. It was followed by Pookkalam Varavayi (1991) directed by Kamal and O' Faby (1993). She also did a TV serial Iniyonnu Vishramikkatte directed by Vinayan.

Divyaa's first feature film as a lead actress was Kalyana Sowgandhikam (1996) with actors like Dileep and Kalabhavan Mani in the lead roles - one she did when she was fourteen; studying in the tenth grade. Subsequently, she worked with the actors Mammootty, Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Jayaram and Dileep and directors Bharathan; I V Sasi; Sibi Malayil and Lohithadas.

Dance career[]

Divyaa started her Bharatanatyam dance training at the age of three,^[4] thereafter she was trained in Kuchipudi, and Mohiniyattam. Subsequently, Divyaa Unni was crowned, in 1990 and 1991, ''Kalathilakom'' in Kerala School Kalolsavam statewide competitions. On India's premier Television Channel Doordarshan, she has presented a variety of Indian dance art-forms to such as Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Mohiniyattam, and Indian folk dance. She continues to perform at various Indian dance festivals^[5][6][7][8] in India^[9] and international stages throughout North America, Europe and Persian Gulf countries.

She has received many awards including the Aravindaksha Memorial Award – the Abhinaya Tilaka Puraskaram for the best state dance performance.

In the pursuit of promoting Indian culture in the West, Divyaa is developing the artistic talents of young children in the United States, where she currently resides. With this goal, she is currently the Director of Sreepadam School of Arts in Houston, Texas, United States.

Filmography[]

Television[]

Serials

• Iniyonnu Vishramikkate (DD Malayalam)
• Shankupushpam (Asianet)

Telefilm

• Pranayam (Surya TV)

TV shows as Host

• American Jalakam (Asianet)
• America Today (Kairali TV)
• Pravaham

Dance video[]

• Kaathidam Keralathe (2020)

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Divyaa Unni.

• Divya Unni at IMDb
• Divyaa Unni on Facebook
• Divyaa Unni on Instagram