Kartiki Gonsalves Age, Husband, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Full name	Kartiki Selena Gonsalves [1]LinkedIn
Profession(s)	Filmmaker and Photojournalist
Famous For	Directing the Academy Award-winning documentary film The Elephant Whisperers (2022)
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 163 cm in meters- 1.63 m in feet & inches- 5’ 4”
Eye Colour	Dark Brown
Hair Colour	Black
Career
Debut (as a director)	Film: The Elephant Whisperers (2022) on Netflix
Awards & Honours	• She shared the Oscar with Guneet Monga for her film The Elephant Whisperer under the Best Documentary Short Film category (13 March 2023) • Title of Associate Fellow by the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP)
Personal Life
Date of Birth	2 November 1986 (Sunday)
Age (as of 2022)	36 Years
Birthplace	Ooty, Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu, India
Zodiac sign	Scorpio
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Ooty, Tamil Nadu
School	• St. Hilda’s School & Junior College, Ooty, Tamil Nadu • St Michael's Academy
College/University	• Dr G R Damodaran College Of Science (Autonomous), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu (2004-2007) • Light & Life Academy, Tamil Nadu (2007-2008)
Educational Qualification(s)	• BSc in Design and Visual Communications from Dr G R Damodaran College Of Science (Autonomous) • Postgraduate diploma in photography and filmmaking from Light & Life Academy [2]LinkedIn
Ethnicity	Her father belongs to a Goan Catholic family hailing from Ooty, Tamil Nadu, while her mother is of American origin.
Controversy	In August 2023, Bomman and Bellie sent a legal notice to Kartiki Gonsalves, seeking a ‘goodwill gesture' of Rs. 2 crore from her. Chennai-based social activist Pravin Raj, a lawyer by profession, sent the legal notice on behalf of Bomman and Bellie. After sending the notice, Raj said, "Both Bomman and Bellie are disappointed with Gonsalves, who had promised them monetary help as well as help with the education of Bellie's granddaughter, while making the film. But she now refuses to give even a fraction of the enormous profits made by the film." [3]NDTV
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Not known
Family
Parents	Father- Timothy Aloysius Gonsalves (computer engineer, director of the Indian Institute of Technology-Mandi) Mother- Priscilla Tapley Gonsalves (holds a PhD in Eastern European History) Note: Priscilla is of American origin.
Siblings	Sister- Danica Gonsalves

Some Lesser Known Facts About Kartiki Gonsalves

• Kartiki Gonsalves is an Indian filmmaker and wildlife photographer. She made headlines on 13 March 2023 after she received an Oscar for directing the short film The Elephant Whisperers (2022).

• Kartiki began developing an interest in photography while she was on a tour to Europe, where she took her parents point and shoot Minolta camera. She started taking photos on advanced cameras such as Canon EOS TI and Fuji Finepix after completing her graduation.

• From September 2008 to July 2009, Kartiki worked as a design and photography consultant with IIT Madras Foundation.

• In July 2009, she was employed by Fabindia Overseas Pvt Ltd in Bengaluru. There, she worked as a store manager till February 2010.

• Later, she left her job at Fabindia and began working as an assistant at a gym in Bengaluru.

• At Zela Luxury Health Clubs in Bengaluru, she worked as a design and photography executive/customer service executive from February 2010 to November 2010.

• From August 2011 to September 2014, Kartiki was employed by Black Coffee Advertising. There, she worked as an art director and photographer.

• In August 2014, she was employed by a Bengaluru-based company named Fisheye Creative Solutions. There, she worked as a senior art director till October 2015.

• She became the ambassador of CoalitionWILD in September 2016.

• In April 2018, she started working as an artisan of imagery at Sony.

• After establishing the Earth Spectrum, a platform which raises awareness about nature and culture, in Mumbai, Kartiki Gonsalves became its director of operations on 31 December 2018.

• Kartiki was appointed by Wildcraft India as its brand ambassador in January 2019.

• Peak Design appointed her as its ambassador in January 2020.

• Kartiki began working with an Austrian company named Swarovski Optik in 2021. It produces and sells optical sights and other types of optical equipment around the globe.

• In an interview, Kartiki said that she began learning how to work on different types of video recording equipment while she was working as a videographer in a documentary that was being shot in Uttarakhand.
  

  Kartiki’s picture taken during a shoot

• Thereafter, she worked as one of the camerapersons for The Asiatic Black Bear, an episode from a National Geographic series titled On The Brink.
  

  Kartiki Gonsalves with a cameraman during the shooting of The Asiatic Black Bear

• To pursue a career in filmmaking, she left her job and began working as a tour guide in Bengaluru. While giving an interview, she said that she decided to shift from wildlife photography to filmmaking as she believed that wildlife photography had no prospect of growth in India. Talking about it, she said,
  

  I ventured into advertising after my post-graduation. I eventually quit to pursue wildlife and social documentary photography, working as a tour guide to support myself financially. But I soon realized that photography in the area I was interested in did not have much scope In India at this time. I realized filmmaking was a tool that I could use to reach out to the world… I believe that strong imagery has the power to change minds.”

• On 13 March 2023, she won an Oscar for directing The Elephant Whisperers. She shared the award with the film’s producer Guneet Monga. The film was based on the relationship between the mahouts, Bomman and Bellie, and their elephants, Raghu and Bommi (aka Ammu). While giving a speech after winning the Oscar, she said,
  

  I stand here today to speak on the sacred bond between us and our natural world. For the respect of indigenous communities. For entity towards other living beings, we share our space with. And finally for co-existence. Thank you to the academy for recognizing our film highlighting indigenous people and animals. To Netflix for believing in the power of this film. To Guneet my Producer and my entire team and finally, to my mother father and sister who are up there somewhere, you’re the centre of my universe. To my motherland India.”

  

  A still from the film The Elephant Whisperers

• After winning the Oscar, in an interview, she said that her next film would showcase the relationship shared between an Orca (a killer whale) and its handler.

• Kartiki Gonsalves loves animals and has two dogs and a cat. One of her dogs’ names is Rusty. The other dog is a Belgian Malinois named Delani.
  

  A photo of Kartiki’s pets

• Kartiki has written and published articles for The Hindu, National Geographic, and more. In 2020, she published an article, The Places In-Between, on her website, which covers the lifestyle of residents of Turtuk, a village in Kashmir, near the India-Pakistan border.
  

  Kartiki Gonsalves taking a selfie with the kids in Turtuk

• Her favourite cinematographers include Emmanuel Lubezki, Terrence Malick, Louie Psihoyos, Orlando von Einsiedel, Jeff Orlowski, David Attenborough. Gabriela Cowperthwaite, and Ron Fricke.

• On 9 May 2023, MS Dhoni presented personalised jerseys to Kartiki Gonsalves and Bomman and Bellie of The Elephant Whisperers fame at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, in Chennai.
  

  Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni presenting a personalised jersey to Kartiki Gonsalves on 9 May 2023