Dhivyadharshini "DD" Neelakandan is an Indian television presenter, host and actress. She predominantly works in Tamil television and film industry especially in Tamil entertainment. She is one of the highest paid television hosts. She has hosted numerous television shows such as Koffee with DD, Anbudan DD.Initially making her debut as an actress, she featured in supporting roles in films including Kamal Haasan's production Nala Damayanthi (2003), before going on to work in television serials, drawing attention for her performances in the Raadan Media ventures Selvi and Arasi. Since 2007, she has regularly been a host for shows on Vijay TV and in 2014, began hosting Koffee with DD, her own show.

Early life

Dhivyadharshini was born to K. Neelakandan and N. Srilatha. Her sister Priyadarshini is also a television host, while her younger brother is an airline pilot. She attended Our Lady's Matriculation Higher Secondary School and has since has continued part-time education at Anna Adarsh College, Chennai.

Career

Dhivyadharshini made her debut as a television anchor in 1999, when she successfully auditioned to be the child anchor for Vijay TV's ''Ungal Theerpu''. She made a breakthrough as an actress, portraying a serious character in K. Balachander's television serial ''Rekkai Kattiya Manasu'', shown on Raj TV, and subsequently, her performance helped her to popularity and gain further acting assignments. After a few more cameo appearances in films, Dhivyadharshini moved back to television, where she played notable roles in the Raadan Media ventures ''Selvi'' and ''Arase''. She has also contributed as a dubbing artist in films, notably voicing Vega Tamotia in ''Saroja'' (2008) and Piaa Bajpai in ''Goa'' (2010).Since 2007, Dhivyadharshini has become one amongst the leading TV anchors as featured on Tamil television and has notably continued to host several reality TV shows on Vijay TV. She hosted the initial seasons of ''Jodi Number One'' alongside Deepak and Aravind Akash, as well being the initial host of ''Boys Vs. Girls''. After a few more cameo appearances in films, Dhivyadharshini moved back to television, where she played notable roles in the Raadan Media ventures ''Selvi'' and ''Arase''. She has also contributed as a dubbing artist in films, notably voicing Vega Tamotia in ''Saroja'' (2008) and Piaa Bajpai in ''Goa'' (2010).Since 2007, Dhivyadharshini has become one amongst the leading TV anchors as featured on Tamil television and has notably continued to host several reality TV shows on Vijay TV. She hosted the initial seasons of ''Jodi Number One'' alongside Deepak and Aravind Akash, as well being the initial host of ''Boys Vs. Girls''.

Personal life

She married her longtime friend & assistant director Srikanth Ravichandran. But the couple announced their split in 2017. They filed for divorce in a family court in Chennai subsequently. Dhivyadharshini has rheumatoid arthritis, which prevents her from long-distance walking.