Gautami Tadimalla is an Indian film actress who has worked mainly in Tamil films, although she also appeared in successful films in Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada cinema. She is also a television actress, television host and known costume designer.Gautami was born in Nidadavole West Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh. She went to GITAM University in Visakhapatnam to pursue Engineering. She made her first appearance at the age of 17 in the Telugu film Dayamayudu, that was produced by her cousin.She was introduced to Tamil films through Guru Shishyan, a film that starred Rajinikanth and Prabhu. She was most active in Tamil cinema from 1987 to 1998 and was a tough competitor to the other heroines of her time, Kushboo and Bhanupriya. Her filmography includes classics like Apoorva Sagodharargal, Raja Chinna Roja, Thevar Magan, Panakkaran, Guru Sishyan, Ooru Vittu Ooru Vanthu, Dharma Durai, Rickshaw Mama as well as Mani Ratnam's Iruvar (1997), which co-starred Mohanlal, Prakash Raj, Aishwarya Rai, Tabu, Nassar and Revathi.