Vanitha Vijayakumar
Born/Date of Birth: 5 October 1980
Place of Birth: Chennai, Tamilnadu, India
Occupation: Actress
Spouse(s): Akash (m. 2000; div 2007), Anand Jayarajan (m. 2007; div 2012), Peter Paul (m. 2020 - )
Partner(s): Robert (2013-2017)
Children: Vijaya Srihari (b.2001), Jovitha (b.2005), Jaynitha (b.2009)
Parent(s): Vijayakumar, Manjula Vijayakumar
Siblings: Preetha (sister), Sridevi (sister), Arun Vijay (half-brother), Anitha (half-sister), Kavitha (half-sister)

Vanitha Vijayakumar is an Indian film actress, who has appeared in Tamil, Malayalam, and Telugu language films.

Early life
Vanitha was born as the eldest daughter of Tamil actor Vijayakumar and his second wife, Tamil actress Manjula. Vanitha has two younger sisters Preetha and Sridevi, who are former actresses. From his first marriage to Muthukannu Vellalar, Vijayakumar had three more children. Actor Arun Vijay, former actress Kavitha and Anitha are her half-siblings.

In September 2018, she had another public fallout with her family after she refused to leave a family property that she had initially rented for a shoot in Ashtalakshmi Nagar. Her father, Vijayakumar, subsequently filed a police complaint against her.

Career
Vanitha made her acting debut opposite Vijay in Chandralekha (1995). Directed by Nambirajan, the film was shot in a small village and owing to the lack of caravans, Vanitha had to make use of basic conditions. The film opened to mixed reviews and eventually did not perform well at the box office, effectively curtailing Vanitha's career. Vanitha subsequently appeared alongside Rajkiran in Manikkam (1996), before moving on to act in the Malayalam film Hitler Brothers (1997) and Telugu devotional fantasy film Devi (1999). After her first marriage to Akash, Vanitha quit the film industry.

Vanitha made a brief comeback to acting in the mid 2010s, and first appeared in a small role in Naan Rajavaga Pogiren (2013). She followed this up with a longer role in the comedy drama, Summa Nachunu Irukku (2013). Vanitha then chose to turn producer and make a film titled MGR Sivaji Rajini Kamal (2015), to be directed by her then-boyfriend Robert. She produced the film under the Vanitha Film Production banner, suggesting that the script of the film originated from a joke they discussed at a social gathering. Following the commercial failure of the film, Vanitha lodged a police complaint against distribution studio Vibrant Medias, alleging that they did not release the film in 80 cinemas as agreed in their contract.

In 2019, Vanitha appeared in the Tamil reality television show Bigg Boss Tamil 3 on Star Vijay. She was the second contestant to be eliminated from the show.After a few weeks of fans request for vanitha to enter the house as a wild card,and as after she left the TRP rating reduced they sent her again as a contestant

In 2020, Vanitha appeared in the tamil Cooking show Cook With Comali on Star Vijay and became the winner.

Personal life
Vanitha Vijayakumar married Akash, a television actor, on 10 September 2000. The pair have a child, Vijay Sri Hari (b.2001). Then Vanitha started living separately. Jovika (b.2005) was born and the pair officially filed for separation in 2006 and the divorce was finalised in June 2007. Following a lengthy child custody dispute, the Madras High Court ordered that Vijay Sri Hari split their time between their parents. Vijay Sri Hari later moved in permanently with his grandfather and then Akash.

Vanitha Vijayakumar married her second husband, businessman Anand Jay Rajan, in 2007. The pair have a daughter, Jaynitha (b.2009). The couple separated soon after and were officially divorced in 2012, with Rajan being awarded custody of their child. Vanitha suggested that the pair divorced as a result of her disputes with Vijayakumar, and that Rajan had effectively become indirectly involved in the controversy costing him peace and career opportunities. In 2019, police questioned Vijayakumar while on the set of Bigg Boss Tamil 3 in Chennai over a complaint filed by Rajan alleging that she had kidnapped their daughter Jaynitha. Vijayakumar was not arrested after Jaynitha confirmed that she had voluntarily come to Chennai with her mother.

Following her separation with Anand Rajan in 2010, Vanitha dated choreographer Robert in 2013. The duo also worked together professionally by producing a film titled MGR Sivaji Rajini Kamal (2015), before ending their relationship in 2017.