Starting Point
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan beat out 15,000 people for her very first acting job. She filmed her audition tape on her mother’s camera at a local library. She was still rehearsing for her high school production of Chicago when the call came that changed her life completely. Today, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is one of the most recognized and beloved young actresses on the planet — and she did all of it before most people even figure out what they want to do with their lives.
In this complete guide, we cover everything fans want to know about Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, her age, her height, her biography, her Tamil-Canadian background, her rise to fame through Never Have I Ever, her expanding film career, and much more. Whether you are a long-time fan or just discovering her for the first time, this article gives you the full picture.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan Age: How Old Is She in 2025?
One of the most searched questions about this young star is simply: how old is Maitreyi Ramakrishnan?
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan was born on December 28, 2001, making her 23 years old as of 2025. She will turn 24 in December 2025. Her star sign is Capricorn — a sign associated with ambition, discipline, and determination, all qualities that Maitreyi has demonstrated in abundance throughout her career.
What makes her age particularly remarkable is the context around it. In 2019, she was chosen by Mindy Kaling out of 15,000 candidates who had applied for an open casting call for the show. She was just 17 years old at the time, still a high school student, with zero professional acting experience to her name. The fact that she went from a complete unknown to the lead of a globally watched Netflix series at that age is genuinely extraordinary.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan Personal Attributes
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Maitreyi Ramakrishnan |
| Date of Birth | December 28, 2001 |
| Age (2025) | 23 years old |
| Star Sign | Capricorn |
| Birthplace | Mississauga, Ontario, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Ethnicity | Tamil Canadian (Sri Lankan Tamil descent) |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Height | 5 feet 6 inches (167 cm) |
| Eye Color | Black |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Net Worth (est. 2025) | $1 million – $5 million USD |
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan Height: How Tall Is She?
Another question that consistently trends online is: how tall is Maitreyi Ramakrishnan?
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s height is 5 feet 6 inches, which is approximately 167 centimeters. This measurement is consistently reported across major entertainment databases including IMDb and CelebHeights, and it is the most widely accepted figure among fans and media outlets.
At 5’6″, Maitreyi stands noticeably above the average height for women in both Canada and globally. The average height for Canadian women is approximately 5 feet 4 inches, which means she stands around two inches taller than average. Furthermore, her height gives her a natural and confident presence on screen that perfectly complements her powerful performances.
How Does Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s Height Compare to Other Stars?
| Celebrity | Height |
|---|---|
| Millie Bobby Brown | 5 feet 4 inches |
| Emma Watson | 5 feet 5 inches |
| Maitreyi Ramakrishnan | 5 feet 6 inches |
| Selena Gomez | 5 feet 5 inches |
| Zendaya | 5 feet 10 inches |
| Taylor Swift | 5 feet 11 inches |
As you can see, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s height places her comfortably above many of today’s biggest young actresses. Moreover, her strong posture and confident screen presence often make her appear even taller than her listed measurement. In many ways, her physical presence on screen mirrors the confidence and energy she brings to every role she plays.
Who Is Maitreyi Ramakrishnan? Early Life and Family Background
To truly understand Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, you have to start where her story starts — in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, and in the remarkable family that raised her.
Born to Refugees Who Built a New Life in Canada
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan was born on December 28, 2001, in Mississauga, Ontario, where she was raised. She was born to Sri Lankan Tamil parents who immigrated to Canada as refugees due to the country’s civil war. She identifies herself as Tamil Canadian.
Her parents, Ram Selvarajah and Kiruthiha Kulendiren, left Sri Lanka as refugees and rebuilt their lives in Canada — bringing with them a deep sense of cultural pride, resilience, and the belief that their children could achieve anything if they worked hard enough. That background has shaped Maitreyi profoundly. Consequently, she has consistently and proudly identified as Tamil Canadian throughout her career, never downplaying or distancing herself from her heritage even as her fame has grown internationally.
She also has a brother named Vishwaa Ramakrishnan. The family is close-knit, and Maitreyi has spoken warmly about her parents’ influence on her values and her approach to life and work.
Growing Up in Mississauga
Growing up in the Meadowvale neighborhood, she was surrounded by a blend of cultures, languages, and traditions that would later shape her worldview. In interviews, Maitreyi often reflects on how Mississauga’s diversity helped her feel seen and accepted from a young age. That multicultural environment gave her a natural understanding of different perspectives, which would later translate directly into her ability to portray complex, emotionally nuanced characters on screen.
School, Theater, and a Dream of Animation
She went to Lisgar Middle School for elementary school and graduated from Meadowvale Secondary School. During her school years, Maitreyi was deeply involved in the theater program, developing a passion for performance that would prove to be the foundation of her entire career.
Interestingly, acting was not always her first choice. As a kid, she dreamed of becoming a Disney animator, but in high school she decided to try her hand at acting. That pivot — from animation to acting — ultimately led to one of the most remarkable breakthrough stories in recent entertainment history.
The Audition That Changed Everything: 15,000 Applicants, One Winner
The story of how Maitreyi Ramakrishnan got her breakthrough role is one of the most inspiring in modern Hollywood — and it is important enough to deserve its own dedicated section.
Mindy Kaling’s Worldwide Open Casting Call
In 2019, creator Mindy Kaling made an extraordinary decision when casting the lead for her new Netflix series Never Have I Ever. Rather than limiting the search to established actors in Los Angeles, she posted an open casting call on social media that was open to anyone, anywhere in the world.
When Mindy Kaling decided the pool of Indian-American actors in Los Angeles was too small and posted a worldwide casting call on social media for Never Have I Ever, Maitreyi thought she would give it a shot.
The Library Audition Tape
The person who told Maitreyi about the audition was her best friend, Shaharah Gaznabbi. At the time, Maitreyi was a teenager with no professional acting credits and no industry connections whatsoever. She did not have access to a professional studio or expensive equipment. So she did what any resourceful 17-year-old would do — she filmed her tape on her mother’s camera at a local library.
“I thought it would just be, like, a fun video that me and my friends could look back on like play at each other’s weddings for jokes. I didn’t really think much would come out of it,” she said at the time.
One in 15,000
What happened next was nothing short of remarkable. Maitreyi created her audition tape at the library, eventually being asked to send four more videos, before having a screen test in Los Angeles. She was then selected out of 15,000 submissions and went from high school to Hollywood in just a few short weeks.
To put that number into perspective — she had a 0.006% chance of getting the role. Furthermore, she had zero professional acting experience. She beat out thousands of aspiring actors from around the world while still attending high school and rehearsing for a school production of Chicago. In other words, her story is not just inspiring — it is almost unbelievable. And yet, it is completely true.
She now considers Mindy Kaling a close friend and mentor and has referred to her as her “fairy godmother” on social media on multiple occasions.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s Career: From Never Have I Ever to Hollywood
Since her extraordinary debut, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan has built a career that has expanded rapidly and impressively in multiple directions — television, voice acting, and now major film roles.
Never Have I Ever (2020–2023): The Role That Started It All
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan rose to prominence for her leading role as high school student Devi Vishwakumar in the Netflix teen comedy series Never Have I Ever, which ran from 2020 to 2023.
The series, created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, ran for four seasons and became one of Netflix’s most beloved coming-of-age shows. In July 2020 alone, Netflix reported the series had been viewed by 40 million households globally since its release. That is an extraordinary number for any show, let alone one centered on a Tamil-American teenager navigating grief, identity, and first love.
Maitreyi’s portrayal of Devi Vishwakumar was widely praised from the very first episode. Variety described it as a “breakout performance,” and the series earned her nominations for an Independent Spirit Award, a Canadian Screen Award, an MTV Movie and TV Award, and two People’s Choice Awards.
What made her performance genuinely special was the specificity and humanity she brought to the character. “She’s so clearly smart, she knows she’s smart, and she loves that. Yeah, she’s a nerd, but she’s confident. You don’t get to really see that much in film because usually nerds are depicted as lonely and for some reason have no friends,” Maitreyi explained in an interview, capturing exactly why Devi felt so fresh and necessary on screen.
Voice Acting: Turning Red and Beyond
Following her Never Have I Ever success, Maitreyi moved into voice acting — and proved immediately that her talent translates beautifully to animation as well.
She played voice roles in the animated film Turning Red (2022) and The Twits, and the animated series My Little Pony: Make Your Mark (2022–2023) and My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale (2022–2024).
In Pixar’s Turning Red, she voiced Priya Mangal — a deadpan, goth-aesthetic character who quickly became a fan favorite. The film, set in early 2000s Toronto, felt particularly personal for Maitreyi given its Canadian setting and its themes around identity, growing up, and navigating the expectations of family and culture.
Live-Action Films: Making the Jump to the Big Screen
In 2025, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan made her transition into live-action films — and she did so with remarkable projects.
She made her live-action film debut with a supporting role in the comedy drama Slanted, which premiered on March 8, 2025, at the South by Southwest Film and TV Festival. The film was met with positive reception, won the jury prize for narrative feature at the festival, and IndieWire described Maitreyi’s performance as a “scene-stealing turn.”
Furthermore, she appeared in a supporting role as pop star Ella in Disney’s Freakier Friday, the long-awaited sequel to the beloved 2003 classic led by Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. Released theatrically on August 8, 2025, the film received positive reviews and grossed an impressive $153 million worldwide.
Most recently, in April 2026, Maitreyi appeared in a guest role as Countess Crow — part of the teenage superhero group Teenage Kix — in the fifth season of the critically acclaimed series The Boys.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s Complete Filmography
| Year | Project | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–2023 | Never Have I Ever | Devi Vishwakumar | TV Series (Lead) |
| 2022 | Turning Red | Priya Mangal | Animated Film (Voice) |
| 2022–2024 | My Little Pony franchise | Zipp Storm | Animated Series (Voice) |
| 2025 | Slanted | Brindha | Live-Action Film |
| 2025 | Freakier Friday | Ella | Live-Action Film |
| 2025 | The Twits | Beesha Balti | Animated Film (Voice) |
| 2026 | The Boys (Season 5) | Countess Crow | TV Guest Role |
| 2026 | The Angry Birds Movie 3 | TBA | Animated Film (Voice) |
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s Education: Balancing Fame and University
One of the most admirable things about Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is her genuine commitment to her education — even as her acting career exploded on a global scale.
Maitreyi decided to pursue an acting career in her last year at Meadowvale Secondary School and got the role in Never Have I Ever less than a year later. She deferred her acceptance to the theatre program at York University in Toronto, which she had initially planned to attend the fall after graduating high school, so she could shoot the series in Los Angeles.
However, rather than simply abandoning her education entirely, she kept it going in parallel with her career. In 2021, she deferred her acceptance a second time, while also switching her degree from theatre to human rights and equity studies. She explained the switch as a desire to go into a program for something she truly wanted to learn about — not something she wanted to turn into a career. Maitreyi ultimately graduated from York University in the autumn of 2025.
That decision — to switch from theatre to human rights and equity studies — tells you a great deal about who Maitreyi is as a person. She did not choose her university education based on what would help her career. She chose it based on genuine intellectual curiosity and a deep commitment to learning about the issues she cares about most.
Representation and Advocacy: Using Her Platform for Something Bigger
Beyond her acting career, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan has become one of the most vocal and consistent advocates for South Asian representation in mainstream entertainment. Furthermore, her advocacy extends far beyond just Hollywood.
Why Representation Mattered to Her
Maitreyi has spoken openly about the fact that she did not see many South Asian role models on television when she was growing up. Rather than letting that absence discourage her, it became fuel for her sense of purpose.
“There’s a responsibility to it because we’re still trailblazing for representation, and we still have so much to do in terms of the broad spectrum of all the stories that need to be told,” she said in an interview. “But in my head I was thinking, ‘You know, somebody has to do it. Somebody has to be the first. So why would I back down when I can take this opportunity?'”
Those words — “somebody has to be the first” — have become something of a defining statement for Maitreyi’s entire public identity. She stepped into a role that had never existed before in mainstream television, and she did so with full awareness of what it meant for young Tamil and South Asian viewers around the world.
Her Name and Her Identity
One of the most memorable and quotable things Maitreyi Ramakrishnan has ever said came in response to questions about her name. When asked whether she had ever considered shortening or changing her name to make it easier for Western audiences, she shut it down immediately and directly.
“If you can say the character names in Game of Thrones, you can say my Tamil name,” she said.
That single line perfectly captures her approach to her identity — confident, unapologetic, and completely comfortable in who she is. It also resonated enormously with fans from South Asian backgrounds who had spent their own lives being asked to simplify or change their names for others’ convenience.
TIME 100 Next Recognition
Being named to the TIME 100 Next list at just 19 years old placed Maitreyi alongside globally influential emerging leaders. The TIME 100 franchise is one of the most recognized annual honors in the world, and previous South Asian entertainers recognized by TIME include Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Mindy Kaling, Kumail Nanjiani, and Aziz Ansari. Being included in that company at 19 years old is a remarkable achievement that speaks to the genuine cultural impact Maitreyi Ramakrishnan has had in an extraordinarily short period of time.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s Personal Life: Private but Present
When it comes to her personal life, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan takes a deliberate and consistent approach — she keeps it private, and she does so without apology.
As of 2025, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan has not publicly disclosed any romantic relationships. She maintains a deliberate boundary between her public professional life and her private personal life. In interviews with major publications including Teen Vogue, Glamour, and Elle Canada, she has consistently redirected personal questions toward her craft, her advocacy work, and her upcoming projects.
That approach is refreshing in an era where celebrity relationships are often treated as content for public consumption. Moreover, Maitreyi’s fans have largely respected her privacy, appreciating her authenticity and the fact that she brings the same honest, no-nonsense energy to her personal boundaries as she does to everything else in her life.
She is, however, very active on social media — engaging with fans, sharing behind-the-scenes content, and using her platforms to speak about issues she cares about, from South Asian representation to mental health awareness to cultural pride.
10 Frequently Asked Questions About Maitreyi Ramakrishnan
1. What is maitreyi ramakrishnan age? Maitreyi Ramakrishnan was born on December 28, 2001, making her 23 years old in 2025. She will turn 24 in December 2025.
2. How tall is Maitreyi Ramakrishnan? Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s height is 5 feet 6 inches, which is approximately 167 centimeters. This makes her slightly above average height for women in Canada and globally.
3. Where is Maitreyi Ramakrishnan from? Maitreyi Ramakrishnan was born and raised in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Her parents are Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who immigrated to Canada during the Sri Lankan civil war.
4. How did Maitreyi Ramakrishnan get her role in Never Have I Ever? Maitreyi submitted a self-taped audition filmed on her mother’s camera at a local library in response to Mindy Kaling’s worldwide open casting call. She was selected from over 15,000 applicants despite having zero professional acting experience.
5. What is Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s ethnicity?
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is Tamil Canadian. Her parents are of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. She consistently and proudly identifies as Tamil Canadian rather than Sri Lankan.
6. What is Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s net worth? As of 2025, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s net worth is estimated to be between $1 million and $5 million USD. Her earnings come from acting, voice roles, brand partnerships, and public appearances.
7. What movies has Maitreyi Ramakrishnan been in? Her major film credits include Pixar’s Turning Red (2022), Slanted (2025), Freakier Friday (2025), The Twits (2025), and upcoming she will feature in The Angry Birds Movie 3 (2026).
8. How is Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s name pronounced? Her name is pronounced “My-tray-yee Rah-mah-krish-nan.” She has humorously pointed out that if audiences can pronounce complex names from Game of Thrones, they can certainly pronounce her Tamil name.
9. Did Maitreyi Ramakrishnan go to university? Yes. Maitreyi deferred her university acceptance twice while filming Never Have I Ever. She eventually graduated from York University in Toronto in autumn 2025 with a degree in human rights and equity studies.
10. Is Maitreyi Ramakrishnan in a relationship? As of 2025, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan has not publicly disclosed any romantic relationships. She is known for keeping her personal life very private and consistently focuses her public presence on her career and advocacy work.
Conclusion: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan Is Just Getting Started
At just 23 years old, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan has already accomplished more than most actors achieve in an entire career. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan beat out 15,000 people for her very first job. She voiced a fan-favourite character in a Pixar film. She made her live-action film debut at a major film festival, earned critical praise alongside Hollywood legends in Freakier Friday, and graduated from university — all at the same time.
Her Maitreyi Ramakrishnan height of 5 feet 6 inches and her age of 23 are just numbers. What is genuinely remarkable is everything else — the Tamil-Canadian girl from Mississauga who filmed an audition tape on her mother’s camera at a library and became a global star because she had the courage to submit it.
Furthermore, she has done all of this while remaining completely grounded, consistently advocating for representation, refusing to change her name for anyone, and prioritizing her education alongside her booming career. In a world that often rewards conformity, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan has built her entire success on being exactly who she is.
As she has said herself — somebody has to be the first. And she showed the whole world exactly how that is done.