ACTORS from Nepal

Top 4

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Nepalese Actors of all time. This list of famous Nepalese Actors is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Manisha Koirala (b. 1970)

With an HPI of 40.71, Manisha Koirala is the most famous Nepalese Actor.  Her biography has been translated into 46 different languages on wikipedia.

Manisha Koirala (pronounced [mʌˈnisa ˈkoirala]; born 16 August 1970) is a Nepalese actress who works in Indian films, predominantly in Hindi and Tamil. Born to the politically prominent Koirala family, she is the daughter of Prakash Koirala and the granddaughter of Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala (former Prime Minister of Nepal), and a recipient of several accolades, including three Filmfare Awards, one Filmfare Awards South and one Filmfare OTT Awards . In 2001, the Government of Nepal awarded her with the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu. Koirala made her acting debut with the Nepali film Pheri Bhetaula (1989), and later debuted in Indian cinema with the Hindi drama Saudagar (1991). Following a brief setback, she had commercial successes in both Bollywood and Kollywood with films like Bombay (1995), Agni Sakshi (1996), Indian (1996), Gupt: The Hidden Truth (1997), Kachche Dhaage (1999), Mudhalvan (1999) and Company (2002). She also received critical recognition for playing a naive girl in 1942: A Love Story (1994), an ambitious wife in Akele Hum Akele Tum (1995), the daughter of deaf-mute parents in Khamoshi: The Musical (1996), a terrorist in Dil Se.. (1998) and a mistreated woman in Lajja (2001), establishing her as one of the leading actresses of Indian cinema in the 1990s. Over the course of the next decade, she garnered critical acclaim for her performances in several unconventional and art-house films, such as the escape drama Escape From Taliban (2003), the family drama Tulsi (2008), the Malayalam psychological drama Elektra (2010), the anthology I Am (2010) and the Tamil romantic comedy Mappillai (2011). In 2012, Koirala took a break from acting after being diagnosed with last stage ovarian cancer and underwent an year-long treatment, making a successful recovery by mid-2014. She officially returned to screen with the coming-of-age drama Dear Maya (2017) and received critical praise for her performance, followed by her portrayal of yesteryear actress Nargis in Sanju (2018), a biopic on the life of Nargis's son and actor Sanjay Dutt. The same year Koirala featured in the Netflix production Lust Stories, marking her debut in the OTT space and has since starred in several projects, both theatrical and streaming, including the acclaimed period drama series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar (2024). In addition to acting in films, Koirala was appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund in 1999 for India and 2015 for Nepal, and was involved in the relief works after the April 2015 Nepal earthquake. She also contributed as an author to the novel Healed: How Cancer Gave Me a New Life; which is an account of her struggle with ovarian cancer. Koirala is frequently cited as one of the most beautiful actresses of her times.

2. Dichen Lachman (b. 1982)

With an HPI of 39.13, Dichen Lachman is the 2nd most famous Nepalese Actor.  Her biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Dichen Lachman ( DEE-chən LAK-mən; born 22 February 1982) is an Australian actress and model. She earned recognition starring as Katya Kinski in the soap opera Neighbours (2005–2007) and as Sierra in Joss Whedon's science fiction drama series Dollhouse (2009–2010). Lachman went on to portray Suren in the supernatural comedy-drama series Being Human (2012), Tani Tumrenjack in the military action-drama series Last Resort (2012–2013), Jiaying in the superhero drama series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2014–2020), Reileen Kawahara in the cyberpunk drama series Altered Carbon (2018–2020), Frankie in the crime drama series Animal Kingdom (2018–2021), and Ms. Casey in the thriller series Severance (2022–present). Lachman has appeared in numerous films, such as Aquamarine (2006), Bled (2009), Lust for Love (2014), Too Late (2015), Bad Therapy (2020), Joe Baby (2024), and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024). Since appearing in the film Jurassic World Dominion (2022), she has continued to play Soyona Santos in the Jurassic Park franchise, starting with the streaming series Jurassic World: Chaos Theory (2024).

3. Rekha Thapa (b. 1982)

With an HPI of 29.70, Rekha Thapa is the 3rd most famous Nepalese Actor.  Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Rekha Thapa (Nepali: रेखा थापा) is a Nepalese actress and politician. She won the CG Digital Film Awards for Best Actress, and in 2011 she also won the NEFTA Film Awards for Best Actress. Thapa is also well-known for speaking out on social and political issues, particularly women's rights. She is recognized for establishing herself in the Nepali cinema business at a time when every film was solely focused on male leads; as a result, she is frequently referred to as a "female hero" rather than a "heroine" of a film.

4. Amrita Acharia (b. 1987)

With an HPI of 28.13, Amrita Acharia is the 4th most famous Nepalese Actor.  Her biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Amrita Acharia (Nepali: अमृता आचार्या, also spelled Acharya) is a British actress of Nepalese–Ukrainian origins. She is best known for her roles as Irri in the HBO series Game of Thrones and as Dr. Ruby Walker in the ITV series The Good Karma Hospital.