Amala Akkineni completed her education in Kalakshetra College of Fine Arts at Chennai, where she performed as part of the Kalakshetra dance troupe under the leadership of Rukmini Devi Arndale.
She has had a successful career in Indian cinema completing 54 films in five Indian languages (Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi), TV and OTT Web series and received various awards in recognition as an actor.
Amala is married to Film actor and producer Akkineni Nagarjuna and together they co-founded Blue Cross of Hyderabad, an animal welfare organization working last 28 years for the welfare of street animals in Hyderabad. Blue Cross has helped over 5,00,000 animals since inception. It currently focuses on reducing animal suffering through a Veterinary hospital and training facility on Rd.No.35 Jubilee Hills; where Animal Birth Control and Anti Rabies vaccinations for stray dogs are conducted on a daily basis.
Amala has served on several governing boards at private and governmental organization’s working as a volunteer for social change; addressing a variety of issues from wildlife protection, women and child welfare, HIV awareness, and preservation of the environment. She received the Jeev Daya award from the Animal Welfare Board of India (2011) and Nari Shakthi Award from Ministry for Women and Child Welfare, Govt. of India in 2017.
Her current position as Director, Annapurna College for Film and Media at Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad. Annapurna College is a private, unaided college, affiliated to JNAFAU and was set up in the heart of Annapurna Studios at Hyderabad. In this leadership and mentoring role, Amala holds alive the dream of Akkineni Nageshwara Rao, to guide young people on an informed, creative path for professions in Film & Media.