Goniya Malimage Awanthi Aponsu, popularly known as Awanthi Aponsu (
Sinhalese: ගෝනියා මාලිමගේ අවන්ති අපොන්සු; born 18 June 1959) is a Sri Lankan actress known for her extensive work in
supporting roles of
teledramas,
films
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of Visual arts, visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are gen ...
and
stage plays
A play is a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than mere reading. The creator of a play is known as a playwright.
Plays are staged at various levels, ranging f ...
. She is the younger sister of popular Sri Lankan actor
Jayasekara Aponsu.
Personal life
Aponsu was born in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka, where she attended Gamini Central College. She lived with her mother, two younger sisters, and younger brother in the Magasthota village area of Nuwara Eliya; her father, and brother Jayasekara had moved to
Colombo
Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...
at this time. Her uncle, Edwin Peiris, was a stage play director in Nuwara Eliya, who was acquainted with
Rohana Weerasinghe
Dr. Rohana Weerasinghe (born 18 February 1949) is a Sri Lankan musician, composer and singer.
Early life
Weerasinghe was born on 18 February 1949 in Algiriya, Matara in southern Sri Lanka. He was the youngest child to his parents Henry Weeras ...
. As a child, she had dreamed of acting, but thought it was out of reach due to her extreme shyness growing up. She instead wanted to become a
nurse
Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...
. It was not until she finished up her studies and moved to Colombo herself in 1979 that she'd pursue acting. She started her acting career in stage plays under the
tutelage
Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects.
A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...
of her brother Jayasekara. She practiced for six months, and made her stage debut with
Jayantha Ketagoda
Jayantha Ketagoda is a Sri Lankan politician and a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, having replaced Sarath Fonseka
Field Marshal Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal Fonseka (born 18 December 1950) is a Sri Lankan retired army officer. He wa ...
.
She is married to Yagath Jayasuriya, an ex-
Air Force
An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...
officer. Many of Aponsu's brothers and sisters, including
Jayasekara Aponsu, Gamini Aponsu, and Nirmada Aponsu, are also famous actors. Aponsu is a
Theravada
''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
.
Aponsu's daughter, Kavya Jayasuriya, was born on 22 May 1992. Kavya married Pahan Thillakaratne on 14 November 2018. The wedding was attended by
Maithripala Sirisena
Maithripala Yapa Sirisena (; ; born 3 September 1951) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the seventh president of Sri Lanka from 9 January 2015 to 18 November 2019. Sirisena is Sri Lanka's first president from the North Central Province, S ...
, who was
President of Sri Lanka
The president of Sri Lanka ( ''Śrī Laṅkā Janādhipati''; ''Ilaṇkai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The president is the chief executive of the union governm ...
at the time, as well as his brother, businessman Dudley Sirisena, who are close friends of Aponsu's husband. The couple now resides in
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, and gave birth to their first child, a daughter, on 16 January 2025.
[@kavyajayasuriya and @pahan_thillakaratne (February 16, 2025)]
"Cheers to one month of magical moments, late-night cuddles, and the sweetest baby giggles"
via Instagram. Retrieved on June 9, 2025.
Filmography
Film
Stage Dramas
Awards
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aponsu, Awanthi
Living people
1959 births
Sri Lankan film actresses