Amala was born in Kolkata to a Bengali speaking father who was a Naval officer and an Irish mother. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Bharata Natyam from Kalakshetra college of fine arts, founded by Rukmini Devi Arundale. She gave many live performances worldwide.^[10] She was subsequently persuaded to join films by T. Rajender, who visited her home with his sister and convinced her mother to let her act in the film, which would be a classical film featuring her Bharat Natyam dancing.^[11]

Amala married Telugu Film actor Akkineni Nagarjuna in 1992 and the couple has a son, actor Akkineni Akhil. They currently live in Hyderabad.^[10] She is the step-mother of actor Naga Chaitanya.^[12] In an interview with The Hindu, she cited her greatest fear as not "walking the talk" when it comes to social issues. She also highlighted that her greatest regret is not speaking Telugu well.^[13]

Amala made her debut in a Tamil film titled Mythili Ennai Kaathali, directed by T. Rajendar, which was a huge box office hit. Winning overnight fame, she charmed cinegoers in a flurry of fifty films, including a number of Tamil box office hits. She acted with her future husband Akkineni Nagarjuna in hits such as Nirnayam and Siva. She received Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam for the film Ulladakkam.

She quit acting in 1992 following her marriage to Nagarjuna, but made a comeback in 2012 with the Telugu film Life is Beautiful.^[14] She received a CineMAA Award for Best Outstanding Actress and Telugu category Filmfare Award for best supporting actress in 2013 for her portrayal.

She returned to Malayalam cinema with C/O Saira Banu after a gap of 25 years, since Ulladakkam (1991).^[15]

Filmfare Awards South

• 1991 : Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Malayalam – Ulladakkam^[16]
• 2012 : Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Telugu – Life Is Beautiful

CineMAA Awards

• 2012 : Best Outstanding Actress – Life Is Beautiful

Tamil

Telugu

Hindi

Kannada

Malayalam