Chennai has been home to, or the birthplace of, an extraordinary number of global leaders, artists, and innovators.
- **Viswanathan Anand:** Five-time World Chess Champion and India's first chess Grandmaster. - **A.R. Rahman:** Academy Award and Grammy-winning composer, musician, and producer. - **Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar & C.V. Raman:** Nobel Prize-winning physicists who were educated in the city. - **M.S. Subbulakshmi:** Legendary Carnatic vocalist and the first musician to be awarded India's highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna. - **Indra Nooyi:** Former Chairperson and CEO of PepsiCo, who was born and educated in Chennai. - **Sundar Pichai:** CEO of Alphabet Inc. and Google, who grew up in the Ashok Nagar neighborhood. - **Rajinikanth & Kamal Haasan:** Two of the most celebrated and influential actors in the history of Indian cinema. - **R.K. Narayan:** Highly acclaimed Indian author, famously known for creating the fictional town of Malgudi, born in Madras.