Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar (born 22 June 1974), known professionally as Vijay, is an Indian actor and singer who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. He is among the highest paid actors in India. He has played the lead in 66 films and the International Business Times framed him as a "consistent performer". Referred to as "Thalapathy", Vijay has a significant following internationally. He has won several awards, including a South Indian International Movie Award.

Early life and family
Vijay was born as Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar in a Tamil speaking family on 22 June 1974 in Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu. His father S. A. Chandrasekhar is a Tamil film director and his mother Shoba Chandrasekhar is a playback singer and carnatic vocalist. His father is of Christian descent and his mother is Hindu. Vijay was baptised at the age of 12. Vijay had a sister, Vidhya, who died when she was two years old.

Initially attending Fathima Matriculation Higher Secondary School at Kodambakkam, Vijay later joined the Balalok Matriculation Higher Secondary School at Virugambakkam and went on to pursue a degree in Visual Communications from Loyola College. While studying, at the age of 18, he asked his father if "he would launch him".