She was born as third child to Saraswatamma and Bommaraju Venkata Subbaiah, in Doddavaram village of Prakasam district, near Ongole, Andhra Pradesh. She grew up watching her father perform in various stage shows. Her father, Venkatasubbiah, was a staunch lover of classical music and trained her in music from an early age. <br />Awards[edit] <br />Civilian honors <br />Padma Bhushan in 2003 <br />Padma Shri in 1966 <br />Rashtrapati Award in acting <br />Antastulu <br />Palanati Yuddham <br />National Film Awards <br />Government National Award for Best writer for the book "Nalo Nenu" an autobiography in 1994. <br />Nandi Awards <br />Raghupathi Venkaiah Award, from the Government of Andhra Pradesh, in 1985 <br />Nandi Award for Best Director in 1986 <br />NTR National Award, from the Government of Andhra Pradesh, in 2000 <br />State Awards <br />Kalaimamani (connoisseur of arts), Government of Tamil Nadu, in 1983 <br />Other honors <br />Kalaprapoorna, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, in 1975 <br />Honorary Doctorate, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupathi, in 1984 <br />Raja-Lakshmi Award for the year 1998 from Sri Raja-Lakshmi Foundation, Chennai <br />Annadurai honoured her with a title "Nadippukku Ilakkanam" for her remarkable performance in "Rangoon Radha" <br />She was one of the dignitaries been honored by Andhra Pradesh government at the time of state formation in 1956.
