Kanaka Mahalakshmi, also known as Kanaka, is a South Indian film actress. She was considered one of the leading actress in the Tamil film industry. She is a daughter of the actress Devika.

Kanaka was born to Devadoss and the famous actress Devika. In 2007 she married an engineer from the U.S.

She started her career as the heroine in Karakattakaran (1989), a movie based on the Tamil rural dance Karakattam, along with Tamil film stars Ramarajan, Goundamani and Senthil. It was a blockbuster movie which ran more than a year. Kanaka acted in many Tamil movies, including Adisiya Piravi (1991), Periya Veetu Pannakaran, Periya Kudumbum and Samundi. She starred with many major stars like Rajnikanth, Prabhu, Karthik, Vijayakanth, SarathKumar, etc.

She also starred in a few Telugu and Malayalam movies with major stars like Mammootty and Mohanlal. Her Malayalam debut, Godfather, was an all-time hit movie in Kerala, and ran for 434 days.

Filmography:

1997 Bhoopathi
1998 Manthri Kochamma
1999 Veeralukketha Veekam
2000 Narasimham
2001 Simha Rasi