Uday Kiran was born on 26 June 1980 to Telugu-speaking family of VVK Murthy and Nirmala. He graduated in commerce from Wesley College, Secunderabad. Kiran was engaged to Chiranjeevi's daughter Sushmitha in 2003, but the engagement was broken He married Tamil speaking Vishitha on 24 October 2012. Kiran started modelling while in college. He made his Tollywood debut under his mentor, cinematographer turned film director Teja in the year 2000 with the film Chitram, in which he played the 17-year-old lead character.[16] This film, followed by two others, Nuvvu Nenu and Manasantha Nuvve, made him among the very few actors in Telugu cinema to deliver three consecutive successful films. His performance as a hot-blooded youngster in Nuvvu Nenu won him the Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) in the year 2001.