- U. R. Ananthamurthy
Udupi Rajagopalacharya Ananthamurthy, is a leading contemporary writer and critic in Kannada language and considered as one of the most important representatives of the Navya movement. Ananthamurthy is counted among the most eminent Indian authors. He is the sixth person among seven recipients of Jnanpith Award for Kannada language, the highest literary honor conferred in India. He was conferred Padma Bhushan by Government of India.
- Kuvempu
Kuvempu was born in Hirekodige, Koppa taluk, of Chikmagalur district to a native Kannada family. He was brought up in a place in the lush Malenadu region of Tirthahalli, called Kuppali, of Shimoga district. His education began at his home by an appointed teacher from Dakshina Kannada. He joined Anglo Vernacular school in Tirthahalli to continue his middle school education. He lost his father "Venkatappa Gowda" at the early age of 12 due to ill health.
- Purandara Dasa
Purandara Dasa (kannada:ಪುರಂದರ ದಾಸ) is one of the most prominent composers in Carnatic music. His contribution to music is immeasurable, and he is often called the "Karnataka sangeeta pitamaha" (Father of Carnatic Music). The "dasas", among them Sripadaraya, Kanaka Dasa, Jagannatha Dasa, Vijaya Dasa, and Kamalesha Vittala and others, propounded bhakti to the Lord through music over several years.
- Girish Karnad
Girish Karnad (born May 19, 1938), is a contemporary writer, playwright, actor and movie director in Kannada language. He is the latest one among seven recipients of Jnanpith Award for Kannada the highest literary honour conferred in India. For four decades, Karnad has been composing plays, often using history and mythology to tackle contemporary issues. He is also active in the world of Indian cinema working as an actor, …
- Girish Kasaravalli
Girish Kasaravalli(born 1950) is a leading movie director of international repute in Kannada. He is a well known name among the directors of parallel cinema in India. Mr.Girish Kasaravalli has to his distinction four Golden Lotus Awards for the eleven films he has directed so far. He is a perfectionist and works on his script and screenplay for months together. A gold medalist from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, …
- D. R. Bendre
Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre was amongst the most famous of Kannada poets of the Navodaya Period and important contributor to the field of Marathi literature. Praised as varakavi,viz., gifted poet, he was the second person among seven recipients of Jnanpith Award for Kannada, the highest literary honour conferred in India. He wrote under the pen-name of "Ambikatanayadatta". He also hold the title "Karnataka kula Thilaka" conferred by Udupi Adamaru.
- G. S. Shivarudrappa
Dr. G.S. Shivarudrappa (born February 7 1926) is a Kannada poet, writer and researcher who was rewarded as "Rashtrakavi" by the Government of Karnataka on November 1 2006.
- Kumara Vyasa
Kumara Vyasa is the pen name of Gadhugina Naranappa who is one of the most famous poets in the Kannada language, spoken in the state of Karnataka, India. The name is meaningful, since his magnum opus is a translation (Recreation of Mahabharatha in Kannada Language) of the Sanskrit Mahabharata, written by the famous poet Vyasa. "Kumara Vyasa" literally means "Little Vyasa" or "Son of Vyasa".
- S. Janaki
S. Janaki (born April 23, 1938) is an Indian playback singer. She has sung in many Indian languages including Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada. Janaki is also a lyricist and a music composer. A devotee of Lord Krishna and Shirdi Sai Baba, she spends a lot of time praying and has also released devotional music cassettes on Meera.
- Vijaya Dasa
Vijaya Dasa (1682-1755) or Sri Vijaya Dasa was a prominent saint from the Haridasa tradition of Karnataka, India in the 18th century. He is considered one of the most accomplished scholars belonging to the Dvaita philosophical tradition. Along with contemporary haridasa saints such as Gopala Dasa, Helevankatte Giriamma, Jagannath Dasa, Prasanna Venkata Dasa, Venugopala Dasa and Mohana Dasa, …
- T. P. Kailasam
Thyagaraja Paramasiva Kailasam (1884 - 1946), was a playwright and prominent writer of Kannada literature. His contribution to Kannada theatrical comedy earned him the title "Prahasana Prapitamaha", "the grand old man of humorous plays".
- S. L. Bhyrappa
Santeshivara Lingannaiah Bhyrappa, is a Kannada novelist, whose works are immensely popular both within India and abroad. Bhyrappa is widely regarded as one of India's foremost modern-day writers. His novels are unique in terms of theme, structure, and characterization. He has been among the top selling authors of Kannada, Hindi and Marathi for the past several years. Bhyrappa's works do not fit into any specific genre of contemporary Kannada literature such as Navodaya, …
- A. K. Ramanujan
Attipat Krishnaswami Ramanujan (1929-1993) was an author who wrote in both English and Kannada. Ramanujan wore many hats as an author: he was a playwright, folklorist, philologist, translator, and poet. In his academic work as a scholar of literature he drew on his skills as a producer of literature. His academic research ranged across four Indian languages: Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Sanskrit.
- V. K. Gokak
Vinayaka Krishna Gokak Kannada:ವಿನಾಯಕ ಕೃಷ್ಣ ಗೊಕಾಕ್ (1909-1992) was a major writer in Kannada language and a scholar of English and Kannada literatures. He was fifth among seven recipients of Jnanpith Award for Kannada language for his epic Bharatha Sindhu Rashmi. Bharatha Sindhu Rashmi is perhaps the longest epic written in any language in the 20th Century. It deals with the vedic age. Gokak was a Professor of English literature.
- K. S. Narasimhaswamy
Dr. K. S. Narasimhaswamy was a prominent poet in Kannada language. His most popular collection of poems "Mysooru Mallige" has seen more than twenty reprints and sought as an ideal gift at a wedding to the newly married couple in Karnataka. Narasimhaswamy has been conferred many prestigious awards including Sahitya academy award and Kannada sahitya academy award.
- Ravi Belagere
Ravi Belagere is a writer and journalist based in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. He is the editor of Kannada language tabloid "Hi Bangalore", which he founded along with R. T. Vittalamurthy, Ra. Somanath, Jogi, and I. H. Sangam Dev. He runs a show called "Crime Dairy," which airs on a regional Kannada-language channel, that focuses on crime in Karnataka, and he recently started a school named "Prarthana" for children in Bangalore.
- K. S. Nissar Ahmed
K.S. Nissar Ahmed, is a prominent poet and writer in Kannada language. His father K.S.Haider was a sanitary inspector and a teacher before joining the Revenue Department in Bangalore. He is a post-graduate in Geology, worked as an Assistant Geologist in The Mysore Mines and Geology at Gulbarga before coming in touch with Kuvempu and was invited to the Kannada poet's meet during dasara festival in 1959. He worked as a lecturer in geology in Central College, …
- Chandrashekhara Kambara
Chandrashekhara Kambara (Born January 2, 1937) is a prominent poet, playwright, folklorist, film director in Kannada language and the founder vice chancellor of Kannada University in Hampi. He is known for his effective usage of North Karnataka dialect of Kannada language in his plays and poems and is often compared with D.R. Bendre. Kambar has been conferred with many prestigious awards including Padma Shri by Government of India, Kabir Samman, …
- B. Saroja Devi
B. Saroja Devi is an Indian actress. She is a popular actress in the South Indian cinema. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan award and she has won many awards for different languages. She worked and equally popular in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada movies. She made her film debut in Honappa Bhagavathar's "Mahakavi Kalidasa" (1955). Her first Telugu film was K. Kameshwara's "Panduranga Mahatyam" opposite N T Ramarao.
- Muthiah Bhagavatar
Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar, commonly known as Muthiah Bhagavatar, is one of Carnatic classical music's famous twentieth century composers. Muthiah Bhagavatar composed almost 400 songs, the largest among the post-Trinity composers. The songs were on a number of Gods of the Hindu pantheon. He composed them in four languages - Telugu, Tamil, Sanskrit and Kannada. He also created almost 20 "ragas".
- P. Kalinga Rao
Pandeshwara Kalinga Rao was a Bhavageete and Sugama Sangeetha singer in Kannada language who is aptly called "Monarch of light music in Kannada" He is widely acknowledged for popularising Kannada Bhavageete, the form of music derives lyrics from popular poetry as well as devotional works. Among his famous songs are "bArayya beLadingaLE", "Bramha ninge joDisteeni..", "mooDal kuNigal kere yEri", "nageyu baruthide yenage..." etc.
- T. N. Srikantaiah
Aacharya Tirthapura Nanjundaiah Srikantaiah also known as ThiNamShree (November 26, 1906 - September 7, 1966) was a Kannada literary poet, scholar, and teacher. Srikantaiah was instrumental in preparing and publishing Kannada version of Constitution of India in 1952. He is also credited for suggesting the term "Rashtrapathi", a Sanskrit equivalent for President of India.
- Balappa Hukkeri
Balappa Hukkeri (1911 - 1992) was a singer of folk songs and Bhavageetes in Kannada language and a freedom fighter in his early years. He is mainly credited for popularizing Sugama Sangeetha in North Karnataka, just like P. Kalinga Rao who popularized the art form in South Karnataka. Several prestigious awards have been conferred to him including Sangeet Natak Academy award and Karnataka Sangeeta Nataka academy award.
- K. Shivaram Karanth
Kota Shivaram Karanth (October 10, 1902 - December 9, 1997) was a major Kannada writer, social activist, environmentalist, Yakshagana artist, movie maker and thinker. He was described as the "finest novelist-activist of modern India" by Ramachandra Guha. He was the third person among seven recipients of Jnanpith Award for Kannada the highest literary honour conferred in India.
- Ranna
Ranna (Kannada: ರನ್ನ) was one of the earliest poets of Kannada language. Ranna, Adikavi Pampa and Sri Ponna together are called "three gems of Kannada literature".
- William Bright
William Bright (born August 13, 1928, Oxnard, California; died October 15, 2006 (of a brain tumor), Louisville, Colorado) was an American linguist who specialized in Native American and South Asian languages and descriptive linguistics. Bright earned a bachelor's degree in linguistics in 1949 and a doctorate in the same field in 1955, both from the University of California, Berkeley. He was a professor of linguistics and anthropology at UCLA from 1959 to 1988.
- Ramya
Ramya is a popular actress in the Kannada film industry. Recently she has been acting in Tamil and Telugu cinemas as well.
- Kavitha Lankesh
Kavitha Lankesh is a renowned filmmaker and director in the Kannada cinema industry. Lankesh is the younger daughter of well known Kannada writer and journalist P. Lankesh. Kavitha holds a Masters in English Literature from the Bangalore University and a diploma in advertising. Kavitha started her film career with a documentary on children's nature camp. "Deveeri", a movie based on a short story by P. Lankesh, saw her debut as a director.
- Shishunala Sharif
Shishulana Sharif (1819-1889) was a saint poet, philosopher and social reformer from the state of Karnataka in India. His compositions of "tatvapada"(moral poems) are in Kannada language. Sharif is recognized as the first ever Muslim poet in Kannada literature.
- Vasundhara Das
Vasundhara Das (born 1977) is an Indian actress and singer. She began acting with the Kamal Hasan film "Hey Ram" (1999) and her playback singing career began when she worked with A. R. Rahman for the Tamil-language film "Mudhalvan". She has also sung for Maestro Ilaiyaraaja in the unreleased Tamil movie 'Dhanush' acted and directed by newcomer A M Gurumani. Vasundhara Das has also recorded her own album of non-film songs, and sung in French, English, Tamil, …
- Geetha
Geetha is a South India actress of Telangana origins. She debuted in a Tamil film "Bhairavi" as Rajnikant’s sister. Geetha acted in films in all the South Indian languages, and in a few Hindi films; she even worked simultaneously in Telugu and Kannada films like "Manavari Pandavarulu" and "Hennina Sedu".
- Maasti Venkatesh Iyengar
Maasti Venkatesh Iyengar (June 6 1891 - June 6 1986) was a popular writer in Kannada language. He was the fourth person among seven recipients of Jnanpith Award for Kannada the highest literary honour conferred in India. He was popularly referred to as "Maasti Kannadada Aasti" which means Maasti is Kannada's Treasure. He is most renowned for his short stories. He wrote under the pen name "Srinivasa".
- A. R. Krishnashastry
Ambale Ramakrishna Krishnasastry (1890 - 1968) was a prominent writer, researcher and translator in Kannada language. Prof Krishnashastry is even more popular today after four decades of his death and has become a household name through his masterpiece Vachana Bharata, recital of Mahabharata in Kannada language.
- Ramya Krishnan
Ramyakrishnan (also spelt Ramya Krishnan) (born: September 15, 1967) is one of the successful multilingual actresses in commercial Indian cinema. She has over 200 films to her credit. She also holds a rare record of acting in five languages, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. She has played such diverse roles as glam-doll, caring wife, devoted mom, arrogant vamp and goddess.
- K. V. Akshara
K.V. Akshara is a major playwright and writer in the Kannada language. He is the son of the writer K.V. Subbanna. He is a prominent figure in contemporary Kannada theatre. Akshara presently heads Ninasam, the theatre group and cultural complex in Heggodu, Karnataka, founded by his father.
- Rakshita
Rakshita is a famous South Indian actress, who has acted in Telugu, Kannada and Tamil Movies. She started her career with a kannada movie APPU produced by Smt.Parvathamma Rajkumar with Puneeth Rajkumar as the co-star. She is the daughter of veteran kannada heroine Mamtha Rao and Cinematographer B.C.Gourishankar. She was called by the telugu film industry also for the remake of the same movie as the heroine. It was named as "IDIOT".
- N. Venkatachala
Nanje Gowda Venkatachala (born July 3, 1930) is retired judge of the Supreme court of India and former Lokayukta of state of Karnataka. He was popular for his approach of taking action in each and every case he caught, many times red-handed by personally leading the raid while he was serving as Lokayukta. He became the first of the four Lokayuktas to take the oath of office and secrecy in Kannada language with the Governor also administering the oath in Kannada.
- H. L. Nage Gowda
H.L. Nage Gowda (February 11, 1915 - September 22, 2005) was a prominent Kannada folklorist and author. He received a number of awards in his lifetime, both for his writing and for his work in conserving and propogating folk traditions. Nage Gowda was born in Heraganahalli village in Mandya district in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. He studied science and law, before becoming a civil servant. He was made an officer of the Indian Administrative Service in 1960..
- Shruti
Shruti (Kannada:ಶ್ರುತಿ) is a South Indian film actress. She has acted in about 120 Kannada language movies and several movies in other South Indian languages such as Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam.
- Kanika Subramaniam
Divya Venkatasubramaniam (born 3 July 1982) is a Tamil actress. Her screen names include Kanika in Tamil & Malayalam (also misspelt as "Kaniha, Kaniga" or "Kanihaa") and Shravanthi in Telugu & Kannada. She completed her engineering degree at BITS Pilani during which she acted her first two movies. She became a full time actress thereafter. She has acted in Telugu Malayalam and Kannada movies, …