Columbia University. Photo: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Columbia_University_-_Low_Memorial_Library_(48170370506).jpg)
Columbia University. Photo: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Columbia_University_-_Low_Memorial_Library_(48170370506).jpg)
Avantika Vandanapu, known professionally as Avantika, is an American actress and dancer. She began performing in Telugu cinema as a child after gaining recognition in Dance India Dance Lil Masters North America. Her later roles in Spin, Senior Year, Mean Girls, Tarot, and Big Girls Don't Cry established her in American and Indian screen entertainment.
Background
Ethnicity:
She was born into a Telugu family whose parents originated from Hyderabad, India.
Avantika Vandanapu was born on January 25, 2005, in Union City, California, to Srikanth Vandanapu and Anupama Reddy Chintala. Her parents are of Telugu Indian heritage and originated from Hyderabad, India. She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area while maintaining connections with Telugu culture and Indian cinema.
She began dance training at the age of five, initially studying semi-classical dance and later learning Kuchipudi, a classical dance tradition from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Her early performances in California competitions preceded her transition into television and film.
Education
Avantika studied acting at the American Conservatory Theater and later attended Columbia University. Her education developed alongside a professional career that moved from classical dance and Telugu-language cinema into American film and television.
The American Conservatory Theater is a nonprofit regional theater company and acting-training institution in San Francisco. Columbia University, founded in New York in 1754, is a major American research university whose liberal-arts and professional programs support study across the humanities, sciences, and arts.
Avantika began performing publicly as a dancer during childhood. She received recognition in California talent competitions, including ATA Star Dancer events, Silicon Valley Got Talent, Saratoga's Got Talent, and Bay Area youth performances. In 2014 she became the first runner-up, described in the existing biography as the second winner, of the North American edition of Zee TV's Dance India Dance Lil Masters.
She entered Telugu cinema as a child performer. Her early screen work included Brahmotsavam, Manamantha, Premam, Rarandoi Veduka Chudham, Oxygen, Babu Baga Busy, and Balakrishnudu. She was initially selected for a role in Krishna Gaadi Veera Prema Gaadha but withdrew because of scheduling conflicts.
Avantika later expanded into American productions. She played Rhea Kumar in the Disney Channel original film Spin in 2021 and Janet Singh in Netflix's Senior Year in 2022. In 2024 she appeared as Karen Shetty in the musical comedy Mean Girls, as Paige in the supernatural horror film Tarot, and in the Amazon series Big Girls Don't Cry. She subsequently played Abhinaya "Abby" Chilukuri in the comedy series Not Suitable for Work.
Achievements
She won the TV9 Andhra Pradesh Beauty Contest in 2010.
She received the Best Personality award at the California Fabulous Faces and Central Coast Pageant in 2011.
She received an ATA Star Dancer award in 2012.
She received an ATA Star Dancer award in 2014.
She received the Silicon Valley Got Talent award in 2014.
She was recognized in the 2014 Saratoga's Got Talent competition.
She was recognized in the dance categories of the BATA 14th Annual Youth Talent Show in 2014.
She won the BATA Sankranti Kids Talent Show in 2015.
She won the Bay Area Naach Meri Jaan Dance Competition organized by Javed Jaffrey in 2015.
She was the first runner-up, or second-place finalist, in the North American edition of Zee TV's Dance India Dance Lil Masters in 2014.
She won the junior solo category of the India Waves Dance Muqabla competition in 2015.
She won the Shake The Ground Dance Competition organized by The City Hi Life Magazine in 2015.
She won the Kids Model Hunt organized by The City Hi Life Magazine in 2015.
(Comedy series in which Avantika plays Abhinaya "Abby" Chi...)
2026
Personality
In an interview about Senior Year, Avantika described herself as introverted during middle school and said that she had been working to come out of her shell.
Physical Characteristics:
She is approximately 1.73 meters tall.
Interests
Photography.
Music & Bands
She performed the song "Sexy" on the Mean Girls motion-picture soundtrack in 2024.
Connections
Avantika is the daughter of Srikanth Vandanapu and Anupama Reddy Chintala. Her parents' Telugu heritage and origins in Hyderabad form part of the cultural background represented in her public career.
Father:
Srikanth Vandanapu
Avantika's father, whose family originated from Hyderabad, India.
Mother:
Anupama Reddy Chintala
Avantika's mother, whose family originated from Hyderabad, India.
