List of people from Madurai
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The following is a list of notable people from the Indian city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
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Religious figures
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Scholars
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Dancers
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- Rukmini Devi Arundale – Bharatanatyam dancer; founder of the Kalakshetra Foundation, an art and cultural academy
- Anita Ratnam – classical and contemporary dancer
Entrepreneurs and business leaders
- Chitra Bharucha – former vice chairman of the BBC Trust{{cite web|url=http://www.sajaforum.org/2007/01/ditn_chitra_bha.html|title=DITN: Chitra Bharucha, Acting Head of the BBC|publisher=|access-date=16 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305064457/http://www.sajaforum.org/2007/01/ditn_chitra_bha.html|archive-date=5 March 2016|url-status=dead}}
- Rajashree Birla – wife of Aditya Vikram Birla
- Karumuttu Thiagarajan Chettiar – Indian independence activist, industrialist and the founder of Thiagarajar College of Engineering and Thiagarajar School of Management
- Sundar Pichai – chief executive officer of Alphabet Inc. and its subsidiary Google Inc.
Social activists
| author = Vasudevan, Shilpa Kappur | date = 13 April 2015 | url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/education/edex/One-Who-Fights-For-an-Other/2015/04/13/article2756559.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150519130306/http://www.newindianexpress.com/education/edex/One-Who-Fights-For-an-Other/2015/04/13/article2756559.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 May 2015|title=One Who Fights For an Other|work = The New Indian Express}} – The Commonwealth Awardee,{{cite web | date = 27 October 2016 |url=http://thecommonwealth.org/media/news/finalists-2016-commonwealth-youth-worker-awards-announced|title=Finalists of 2016 Commonwealth Youth Worker Awards Announced |publisher = Commonwealth Secretariat | access-date = 2 March 2025}}{{cite web |author = Veerappan, Devanathan |date = 21 October 2016| url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/madurai/Gender-rights-activist-shortlisted-for-international-award/articleshow/54968127.cms|title=Gender Rights Activist Shortlisted for International Award | work = The Times of India |access-date = 2 March 2025}} youngest candidate in the Tamil Nadu Assembly election and also the first openly intersex and genderqueer person to do so{{cite web |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/intersex-person-to-contest-from-madurai-north/article8539185.ece|title=Intersex Person to Contest from Madurai North|date=30 April 2016| work = The Hindu | access-date = 2 March 2025}}{{cite web
| author = Menon, Priya |date = 22 April 2016
|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/elections-2016/tamil-nadu-elections-2016/news/3rd-gender-gets-a-new-champion-in-Tamil-Nadu-poll-ring/articleshow/51935940.cms|title=3rd Gender Gets a New Champion in Tamil Nadu Poll Ring |work = The Times of India | access-date = 2 March 2025}}{{cite web | date = 10 May 2016 |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Intersex-candidate-alleges-harassment/articleshow/52197962.cms|title=Intersex Candidate Alleges Harassment |work = The Times of India | access-date = 2 March 2025}}{{cite web | author = Mathew, Pheba |date = 24 April 2016 | url=http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/intersex-person-contesting-tn-polls-ze-wants-change-your-mind-sexual-minorities-42103|title=This Intersex Person Is Contesting TN Polls, 'Ze' Wants to Change Your Mind on Sexual Minorities | work = The News Minute | access-date = 2 March 2025}}
- S. Swapna – first Indian transgender to take the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) recruitment examination for public-service employees in the Tamil Nadu state
Literature
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Music
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Film industry
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- Ameer (director)
- Atlee (director)
- Bala (director)
- Bharathiraja
- Cheran (director)
- Chimbu Deven
- Susi Ganeshan
- G. Gnanasambandam
- Ilaiyaraaja
- Kanika
- Ganja Karuppu
- C. V. Kumar
- Maniratnam
- Meenal
- Pandi (actor)
- Solomon Pappaiah
- Mohan Raja
- Pattimandram Raja
- Ramarajan
- Jayam Ravi
- Samudrakani
- M. Sasikumar
- Vijay Sethupathi
- Shaam
- Robo Shankar
- Shanmugarajan
- Soori (actor)
- Srinivasan (Tamil actor)
- Karthik Subbaraj
- Vadivelu
- Velraj
- Vijayakanth
- Vivek (actor)
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Politicians and public servants
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- P. Amudha
- S. K. Balakrishnan
- Mayandi Bharathi
- R. Chidambara Bharathi
- Angidi Chettiar – former vice president of Mauritius
- A. Vaidyanatha Iyer
- Jana Krishnamurthi
- P. Mohan
- S. Muthu
- Pazha Nedumaran
- P. T. Rajan
- Palanivel Rajan
- S. M. Muhammed Sheriff – former Consecutive Member of Parliament
- Nirmala Sitharaman – Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Ministry of Commerce & Industry
- Palanivel Thiagarajan