Wanniarachchige Senali Koshila Fonseka ( (born 18 September 1991) is a Sir Lankan

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

in Sri Lankan cinema, cinema, theatre, and television. Her first appeared film was ''

Siri Parakum ''Siri Parakum'' () is a 2013 Sri Lankan Sinhala epic biographical film directed by Somaratne Dissanayake and produced by Renuka Balasooriya. It stars two newcomers Akila Dhanuddhara and Senali Fonseka in lead roles along with Bimal Jayakody and ...

'' as ''Sirimal Ethana.'' Senali became more popular with her role as ''Paatali'' "Sudu Chooti" in Sri Lankan television series '' Nadagamkarayo.''

Personal life

Senali Koshila Fonseka was born on 18 September 1992 in

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 ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. Her father Upali Fonseka was one of the brothers of Sri Lankan famous actress

Malini Fonseka Wanniarachchige Malini Senehelatha Fonseka, (; ; 30 April 1947 – 24 May 2025) was a Sri Lankan actress, theatre artist, director and politician. Often dubbed the "Queen of Sri Lankan Cinema", her career spanned seven decades. Fonseka made her ...

, who known as Queen of Sinhalese cinema. She attended with

Visakha Vidyalaya Visakha Vidyalaya (, ) is a girls' school in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is a National School managed by the central government providing primary and secondary education. History The school was established in 1917 by Celestina Dias as the Buddhis ...

and then her family moved to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and she got her higher education from

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

Biomedical Sciences Biomedical sciences are a set of sciences applying portions of natural science or formal science, or both, to develop knowledge, interventions, or technology that are of use in healthcare or public health. Such disciplines as medical microbio ...

. In 2020 Senali's father died due to the effect of COVID-19 in

Career

In 2013 Senali began her acting career in '' Sri Parakum'' as the role of ''Sirimal Ethana,'' directed by

Somaratne Dissanayake Somaratne Dissanayake is a Sri Lankan film director, screenwriter and Film producer, producer. He was the Chairman of Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation and the president of the Film Makers Guild of Sri Lanka (FMG). He is the winner of the most nu ...

. The film became the highest-grossing film in Sri Lankan cinema history. She made her first television appearance in ''"Sellam Gedara"'', telecasted on

ITN Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based media production and broadcast journalism company. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, New York City, New York, Paris, Sydney and Washin ...

. Later in 2014 she was taken into the TV Mini Series ''"Kalu Sewanella"''. In 2018 she acted ''"Doowili Ahasa"'' television series telecasted on

Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation The Sri Lanka Rūpavāhinī Corporation (; ), also known as Jathika Rupavahini (lit. National Television) or simply as Rupavahini, is the national television network of Sri Lanka. The term Rupavahini literally means "purveyor of images" in the ...

. In the year 2021 she was more popular with the role of ''"Paatali"'' alias ''"Sudu Chooti"'' in Sri Lankan famous television series, Nadagamkarayo. She became known through the role of ''"Paatali"'' and later was awarded Most Popular Teledrama Actress in

Sumathi Awards The Sumathi Awards () are awards bestowed to distinguished individuals involved with the Sri Lankan television industry. The Sumathi Award ceremonies are held each year by the Sumathi Group of Company in recognition of the contributions made to t ...

in 2021. She has received acclaim from critics and audiences for the acting performances in Nadagamkarayo teledrama.

Television serials

Filmography

References

External links

* *{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113230750/https://www.facebook.com/Senali.Online, title=Senali Fonseka on Facebook, date=dmy Sri Lankan film actresses Sri Lankan television actresses 1992 births Living people Sri Lankan stage actresses