R. Nagarathnamma was a Kannada actress-director who led an all-female troupe and became famous for male impersonation. She was born in 1926 to a traditional middle-class family in Mysore. She had little formal education but was attracted to Kannada theatre at a very early age. At 12, she started her professional career in the play Tukaram.

She worked in Sri Chamundeswari Nataka Sabha, H. L. N. Simha Select Artists, Hirannaiah Mitra Mandali, and Gubbi Veeranna`s company, enacting lead roles in twenty-two productions for various troupes. In 1958 R. Nagarathnamma established the women-only Stri Nataka Mandali in Bangalore, acted the heroes, and also directed the plays. R. Nagarathnamma is remembered for phenomenally powerful portrayals of mythological characters like Bhima, Kamsa, Ravana, and Dasaratha. R. Nagarathnamma`s company traveled in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, and even Punjab. Srikrishna garudi oe `Krishna`s Miracles` was its most popular show, with over fifty performances. Nagarathnamma also starred in fifteen Kannada and Tamil films.