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Ishani Sarkar

At 21, Avantika Vandanapu – known mononymously as Avantika – is already one of Hollywood’s most watchable rising stars. The actress has a new Hulu series out called Not Suitable for Work, which is already making waves.
Earlier this year, Avantika starred in director Vicky Jewson’s ballet-fu action thriller film Pretty Lethal, which landed on Amazon Prime Video in March.


Created by Mindy Kaling, NSFW follows young professionals navigating matters of the heart while chasing their dreams in Manhattan. It also stars Ella Hunt, Jack Martin, Will Angus, Jay Ellis, Ego Nwodim and Constance Wu, and premiered on Hulu on June 2.
Avantika, who plays budding stylist Abhinaya “Abby” Chilukuri, revealed to Entertainment Tonight that she hasn’t seen the full show yet as she doesn’t enjoy watching her own performances, but said she is thrilled for fans to see it.
So what do we know about the young actress?
Avantika is proud of her Indian heritage

Avantika Vandanapu was born in January 2005 in California. Her parents, Anupama Reddy Chintala and Srikanth Vandanapu, hail from Hyderabad, India, and raised her as a Hindu. “As I’ve grown older, I have found a lot of comfort in my faith and my culture,” the actress told Cosmopolitan.
She also recalled being bullied as a kid for wearing a bindi to school, but now considers it “symbolic of how open I am about who I am”. Avantika moved to India at age nine and completed a portion of her secondary education through home-schooling. She later returned to the US, eventually settling in New York at the age of 17. She is currently an undergraduate at Columbia University.
She began her acting career in India

Avantika’s acting journey began as a child actor in India. Her mother discovered a Facebook casting call for the Telugu-language film Brahmotsavam (2016), and Avantika landed a role in it. “It was originally supposed to be a summer project, but I fell in love with it. One offer turned into 10 movies, and I stayed [in India] for four years,” the actress told Cosmopolitan.
From there, as Avantika told Unclear magazine, “I wanted to take a shot at pursuing my dreams in my homeland.” Her breakout role came in the Disney comedy musical Spin (2021). She also appeared in Mindy Kaling’s The Sex Lives of College Girls, and Netflix’s Senior Year (2022), starring Rebel Wilson. She rose to prominence as an adult actor playing Karen Shetty in Mean Girls (2024). Avantika has continued acting in Indian films, and was attached to star and executive produce Disney’s A Crown of Wishes, though the series has only released one episode back in February.
Avantika is also a dancer

Avantika developed a passion for dance from the age of five. “I was always drawn towards the creative arts, especially the expressional aspects of dancing,” she told Unclear. She trained in Indian classical dance and even participated in a dance competition show in India, per Cosmopolitan.


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Avantika Vandanapu plays Abhinaya “Abby” Chilukuri in Not Suitable for Work, created by Mindy Kaling. Photos: @avantika/Instagram; TNS

Avantika Vandanapu at the season one premiere of Hulu’s Not Suitable for Work, in New York in May. Photo: AP

Avantika Vandanapu at the 2026 Disney Upfront, in New York. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

Avantika Vandanapu at Hulu’s Not Suitable For Work advanced screening in New York last month. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

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The 21-year-old rising star’s credits include Pretty Lethal and the Mean Girls reboot – and she’s also studying at Columbia


The 21-year-old rising star’s credits include Pretty Lethal and the Mean Girls reboot – and she’s also studying at Columbia.


Meet Avantika Vandanapu, who plays Abby in Mindy Kaling’s new series Not Suitable for Work

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The 21-year-old rising star’s credits include Pretty Lethal and the Mean Girls reboot – and she’s also studying at Columbia

The 21-year-old rising star’s credits include Pretty Lethal and the Mean Girls reboot – and she’s also studying at Columbia