Vijay Net Worth, Acting, Early Life

Vijay is one of the most popular and beloved figures in Indian cinema. As such, he is one of the most famous actors around the globe. You probably know him from major films like Kaavalan, Master, or Beast.

However, you may not know much about the early life or net worth of this Kollywood icon. Read on to learn more about this beloved figure of global cinema and how he rose to stardom.

Vijay's Net Worth

Vijay holds a net worth of $60 million. He amassed that net worth via his work as a professional actor, playback singer, and brand ambassador. Vijay's work as an actor has led to him becoming one of the highest-paid brand ambassadors in India.

Vijay owns many luxury cars and beautiful homes. The Indian actor works as a brand ambassador for many iconic and lucrative brands, including Coca-Cola. He started his partnership with Coca-Cola back in 2002.

But how did Vijay kickstart his acting career? How did he get started on one of the most successful acting careers on the planet? Where did he grow up and what was it like?

Read on to learn more about the early life and career of Vijay.

Vijay's Early Life

Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar was born June 22, 1974 to a Tamil film director father (S.A. Chandrasekhar) and a playback singer mother (Shoba Chandrasekhar). Vijay was born in Madras, now called Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu.

Vijay's father, a Catholic, and his mother, a Hindu, chose to baptize Vijay as a Catholic. The family did not see much success financially during Vijay's childhood. When Vijay's mother sang in a concert, they had money to pay for food, but when she did not sing, they could not buy food for the family.

Vijay's sister, Vidhya, passed away at the age of two. Vidhya's death crushed young Vijay. He became silent and sullen as a result of his grief, and eventually, he named his production company V.V Productions, for Vidhya-Vijay.

Vijay's Career

Vijay embarked upon one of the most successful careers in the history of film. He became a beloved iconic figure in India and around the world. He did this despite his humble lower-middle-class upbringing.

Child Actor

Vijay began his career as a child actor at the age of 10. He first appeared in the film Vetri in 1984, for which P.S. Veerappa paid him five hundred rupees. Two of the visual formats Vijay worked in as a child actor no longer exist: Eastmancolor in the 1980s and Color film in the 1990s.

Vijay went on to act in several more films as a child actor in the 1980s, including Kudumbam, Sattam Oru Vilayaattu, and Naan Sigappu Manithan with famous Indian actor Rajinikanth.

After Vijay acted in all of these films, he began to act in his father's directed films. He starred in his first lead role at the age of 18, when he acted in his father's film, Naalaiya Theerpu.

A New Leading Man

Vijay's starring role in Naalaiya Theerpu took place in 1992. Throughout the rest of the 1990s, Vijay acted as a leading man in several films. Most of these films found success, though some of them did not perform as well with critics.

However, even the films which did not dazzle critics found strong success at the box office, and many of them became more popular over time, garnering status as cult classics. Vijay cultivated an image as a popular leading man as a romantic hero. Many of his successful films in the 1990s were romantic comedies.

Vijay's breakthrough came in 1996 with the smash hit Poove Unakkaga, directed by Vikraman. This film cemented Vijay's status as a real movie star and gave him his first real critical acclaim. He went on to be praised for his performances in romantic films throughout the rest of the decade, acting in successful films like Kaalamellam Kaathiruppen, Love Today, and Once More.

Vijay's greatest success of the 1990s as a professional actor came at the end of the decade in 1999. Vijay starred in a film called Thullhadha Manamum Thullum alongside Simran. The film won many awards, including the Tamil Nadu State Award for Best Film, and played at cinemas in Tamil Nadu for more than 200 days.

A Tamil Nadu Film Star

In the 2000s, Vijay acted in several highly successful films and cemented himself as a Tamil film star. In 2003, Vijay starred in Thirumalai, an action-romance directed by Ramana and produced by K. Balachander's production company, Kavithalaya Productions. This film allowed audiences to see Vijay in a new light.

Shortly after Thirumalai, Vijay starred in Ghilli. Ghilli served as another watershed moment in Vijay's star-studded career, as it became the first Tamil film ever to gross 500 million rupees (or 50 crore). Ghilli also broke the record for being seen by the most people in the first week of its release.

Ghilli became a record-breaking smash hit of a film and received positive reviews from critics. By this point in time, Vijay was a bonafide star, and he continued to perform as an actor and playback singer in many successful films.

In 2007, Vijay starred in Pokkiri, which became one of the highest-grossing films of his career to date. Pokkiri became the second most successful Tamil film of the year and the first ever Tamil film to play for more than a hundred days at cinemas in Kerala.

Around this time, Vijay received the People's Choice Superstar of the Year Award and he began to receive positive reviews for his films internationally, including by BBC UK and in the foreign box offices.

Global Success

At the end of the 2000s and throughout the 2010s, Vijay became a globally recognized cinema superstar. His first major film of the 2010s, Nanban, earned 150 crore and received many positive reviews. Nanban was a Tamil remake of the Bollywood classic hit 3 Idiots.

Some of his films during this period, like the action thriller Theri from 2016, did not perform especially well with film critics but earned astounding success at the box office.

Over the next several years, Vijay continued to star in popular Tamil films. He also appeared in many other Indian regional films, like a Hindi film titled Rowdy Rathore in 2012. His Tamil films, also, are often dubbed into Hindi for the benefit of Hindi audiences.

Vijay appeared in many successful Tamil films throughout the 2010s and has been linked to upcoming projects for the 2020s. His acting career as a global icon of Tamil cinema and international movie star promises to continue at its steady and impressive pace.

Vijay's Personal Life

The Indian actor married Sri Lankan Tamil Sangeetha Sornalingam in 1999. Vijay and Sornalingam have two children, a boy and girl named Jason Sanjay and Divya Shasha. Both children made cameos in some of Vijay's films.

Vijay met Sangeetha Sornalingam during a trip to the United Kingdom. The two of them are still together and have been an iconic and beloved couple in India.

Vijay's Activism

Vijay stays involved in the worlds of activism and philanthropy. He cultivates a reputation as a charitable and generous person. For instance, in 2007, he visited a government hospital and gave out gold rings to all the babies born on that day.

In 2008, Vijay helped produce and starred in a video designed to encourage young people and students not to drop out of school. Vijay himself appears in the video and tells students how important it is to get a strong education.

Vijay's Cars, Homes, Etc.

Vijay owns many luxury automobiles and nice homes. The actor and playback singer owns an Audi A8, a Mini Cooper, a Rolls Royce Ghost, a BMW X6, and a BMW series 5. Vijay also owns a beautiful beach house in Neelankarai, Chennai, that he built after taking inspiration from a visit to Tom Cruise's beach house in the United States.

Over the years, Vijay's films earned more and more money at the box office. He now takes his place as one of the highest-paid actors in all of Indian cinema.

Vijay's Awards

Throughout his acting career, Vijay won many awards from various academies, organizations, and committees. For instance, the Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute awarded Vijay an honorary doctorate degree in 2007. He also won many awards from film award ceremonies for his acting and for the quality of his films as a whole.

Vijay won the Tamil Nadu State Award for Best Actor in 1997 and the MGR Award for Best Actor in 2000. Those are only a couple of Vijay's acting awards. At the South Indian International Movie Awards in 2016, Vijay won Best Entertainer.

Vijay won two awards from the Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards and he also won four Techofes Awards.

Concluding With the Essentials of Vijay

The actor Vijay became one of the most beloved and iconic figures in Tamil cinema and around the entire globe. He did so via his acting career, his career as a playback singer, and as an excellent and renowned dancer. Vijay demonstrated in the 1990s he possessed the makings of a real romance hero, and he became a bonafide superstar in the 2000s and 2010s.

Vijay boasts a net worth of $60 million. He owns many nice cars and wonderful homes. Vijay has become one of the highest-paid performers in all of Indian cinema.

Vijay's career will continue at its outstanding pace throughout the 2020s as he is already linked to the productions of major films which will likely see success in India and around the world. Vijay emerged from his lower-middle-class upbringing and made himself into a global film icon thanks to his hard work and his talents for acting, singing, and dancing.

After reading all about Vijay's career, net worth, early life, activism, and motivational quotes, you can now appreciate him and his film roles even more. If you enjoyed reading about Vijay, check out our other blogs about celebrities, the stories of their careers, and their net worths.

Our net worths are for entertainment purposes only. We do our best to provide accurate figures, but we cannot guarantee their accuracy. The figures are based on public information and estimates, and may not reflect the true value of assets or liabilities.