Nithya Raman Height, Age, Husband, Children, Family, Biography

Bio/Wiki
Full Name	Nithya V. Raman
Profession(s)	• Politician • American Urban Planner • Social Activist
Known For	Securing a spot in the 2026 Los Angeles mayoral runoff election against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass
Physical Stats
Height (approx.)	5' 6" (168 cm)
Eye Colour	Light Brown
Hair Colour	Light Ash Brown
Politics
Political Party	Democratic Party
Political Journey	• In 2020: Elected as member of the Los Angeles City Council District 4 • In 2024: Re-elected as member of the Los Angeles City Council District 4 • In June 2026: Advanced to the Los Angeles mayoral runoff election (November 2026) after finishing ahead of Spencer Pratt in the primary race
Personal Life
Date of Birth	28 July 1981 (Tuesday)
Age (as of 2026)	45 Years
Birthplace	Kerala, India
Zodiac sign	Leo
Signature
Nationality	American
Hometown	Los Angeles, USA
College/University	• Harvard University, Massachusetts • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts
Educational Qualification(s)	• A bachelor's degree in Political Theory (Social Studies) from Harvard University • A master's degree in Urban Planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Religion	Hinduism
Ethnicity	Tamil
Address	16633 Ventura Blvd Ste 1008, Los Angeles, CA, United States, 91436
Social Media	• Instagram • Facebook • YouTube • Twitter
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Family
Husband/Spouse	Vali Chandrasekaran (television screenwriter)
Children	Son- Karna Daughter- Kaveri
Parents	Father- V. Raman (Engineer) Mother- Mythili Raman
Siblings	Brother- Akash Raman

Some Lesser Known Facts About Nithya Raman

• Nithya Raman was born into a Tamil Iyer family in Kerala.

• When she was six years old, her family moved to Louisiana, USA where she pursued her elementary education. Later her family moved to Boston, Massachusetts.
  

  Childhood picture of Nithya Raman with her mother

• At the age of 22, Raman became a naturalized American citizen.

• In the mid 2000s, Nithya returned to India, where she founded a research firm named, Transparent Chennai, aimed to improve sanitation, water access, and living conditions for resident of Chennai.

• In 2013, she moved back to USA and settled at Los Angeles, where she started working for the city administrative officer of Los Angeles.

• In 2017, Nithya Raman founded a homelessness outreach nonprofit organization named SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition, in Los Angeles.

• In the same year, she was appointed as the executive director of Time’s Up Entertainment.

• In 2019, she entered the Los Angeles City Council race with no prior political experience. In an interview, she shared that the issue of homelessness as being central to her decision to run.

• More than 2,000 volunteers supported her grassroots campaign, and helped her in defeating incumbent Davud Ryu. Raman’s victory over Ryu was the first time in 17 years that a challenger defeated an incumbent Los Angeles city council member

• In 2020, after her win she became the first Asian-American woman and the first South Asian to be elected to the Los Angeles City Council.

• In April 2021, she proposed amendment to draft an ordinance on tenant harassment.

• In June 2021, Nithya faced a recall effort just six months after taking office. The move was a part of a wider wave of recall campaigns taking place across California, including targeting Gavin Newsom. However, in September 2021, the recall campaign against her failed as the organizers were unable to gather the required number of signatures before the deadline.

• On 1 February 2022, Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti appointed her to the board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

• During 2021 and 2022, she was one of only three Los Angeles City Council members, who voted against a city ordinance that banned homeless camp with-in 500 feet of schools and daycare centres.

• In 2022, Raman publicly opposed Azerbaijan’s 2022–2023 blockade of the Republic of Artsakh and expressed support for the Armenian community.

• In June 2023, Nithya Raman was arrested during a hotel workers’ protest in Los Angeles, after she refused to follow police orders to leave the demonstration area.

• In February 2024, Nithya received the endorsement of Democrats for Israel-Los Angeles. However, the endorsement led to criticism from the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, which censured her but continued to support her re-election campaign. In 2026, the group instead endorsed her mayoral rival Karen Bass.

• In March 2024, she was re-elected to the Los Angeles City Council. She received enough votes in the primary election to avoid a second-round runoff.

• During the 2024 Los Angeles’ housing shortage, she proposed allowing mid-sized apartment building near transit station in some single-family residential neighbourhoods. However, the proposal was rejected by the City Council, and it chose to focus on building larger apartment in already dense urban areas of Los Angeles.

• In January 2025, Nithya was appointed as the Assistant President Pro Tempore of the Los Angeles City Council. In April 2026, she left her position after s council leadership reshuffle.

• In August 2025, Raman was one of the city council members, who voted against a city council resolution opposing California Senate Bill 79, which would allow more multi-family housing to be built near public transit stations by limiting local zoning restrictions.

• In November 2025, the Los Angeles City Council approved a proposal introduced by Nithya Raman that limited annual rent increases for rent-stabilized apartments to 4%. It was the first major strengthening of the city’s rent-control protections in about 40 years.

• In February 2026, Raman announced her candidacy for Mayor of Los Angeles, challenging incumbent Karen Bass. Her announcement came just hours before the filing deadline.
  

  Nithya Raman with her family, during her Mayoral election campaign

• In her mayoral campaign she focused on increasing housing construction, improving city services, and boosting Los Angeles’ film industry.

• In her campaign, she did not take part in several City Council votes related to the film industry because if her husband, Vali Chandrasekaran work in the industry, and she wanted to avoid any possible conflict of interest.
  

  Nithya Raman during her election campaign

• In June 2026, one election night, Raman initially trailed TV personality Spencer Pratt by over eight percent. However, after more mail-in ballots were counted, she moved into second place and advanced to the general election run-off against incumbent Karen Bass, scheduled on November 2026.
  

  Nithya Raman with her family, after she advanced to the 2026 Mayoral election run-off