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Kartiki Gonsalves Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated September 29, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth2 November 1986

Age36 (as of 2022)

BirthplaceOoty, Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu, India

ProfessionFilmmaker and Photojournalist

NationalityIndian

FamilyFather: Timothy Aloysius Gonsalves; Mother: Priscilla Tapley Gonsalves; Sister: Danica Gonsalves

Kartiki Gonsalves Biography

Kartiki Selena Gonsalves is an Indian filmmaker and wildlife photographer from Ooty, Tamil Nadu. She directed the Academy Award–winning short documentary,

Early life and background

Kartiki Selena Gonsalves was born on 2 November 1986 in Ooty in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu. She grew up in a family with diverse roots: her father, Timothy Aloysius Gonsalves, is from a Goan Catholic background and her mother, Priscilla Tapley Gonsalves, is of American origin. Kartiki attended St. Hilda’s School & Junior College in Ooty and St Michael’s Academy before moving on to higher studies in Coimbatore and Tamil Nadu.

She completed a BSc in Design and Visual Communications at Dr G R Damodaran College of Science and later earned a postgraduate diploma in photography and filmmaking from Light & Life Academy. Kartiki developed an early interest in photography while travelling and gradually progressed from point-and-shoot cameras to more advanced equipment as she pursued a professional path in visual storytelling.

Career

Kartiki’s professional life spans photography, design and filmmaking. Early roles included design and photography consulting for the IIT Madras Foundation and retail and service-oriented positions in Bengaluru, where she worked at Fabindia and later in roles at Zela Luxury Health Clubs. Between 2011 and 2014 she worked in advertising as an art director and photographer for Black Coffee Advertising, and she later served as senior art director at Fisheye Creative Solutions.

Over time Kartiki shifted focus toward wildlife and documentary work. She gained camera experience on projects such as a National Geographic episode about the Asiatic black bear and worked as a videographer on a documentary shot in Uttarakhand. To support herself while pursuing wildlife and social-documentary photography, she also worked as a tour guide. She has said that filmmaking offered a broader way to reach audiences and effect change through strong imagery.

Kartiki held roles as a brand ambassador and collaborator with conservation and optics organisations: she became an ambassador for CoalitionWILD in 2016, joined Wildcraft India as a brand ambassador in 2019, and was named an ambassador for Peak Design in 2020. In 2021 she began working with Swarovski Optik. In 2018 she established Earth Spectrum, a platform focused on raising awareness of nature and culture, and served as its director of operations.

Her debut as a director came with the short documentary The Elephant Whisperers (2022), released on Netflix. The film, which explores the relationship between mahouts and their elephants, earned Kartiki and the film’s producer the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film on 13 March 2023. She shared the Oscar with producer Guneet Monga. In acceptance remarks Kartiki highlighted themes of coexistence, respect for indigenous communities, and the bond between people and the natural world.

Public profile

Kartiki has written for publications including The Hindu and National Geographic and maintains a public presence as a filmmaker and conservation storyteller. She was appointed an Associate Fellow by the International League of Conservation Photographers. Her interests include wildlife and cinematography; she has cited a range of filmmakers and cinematographers among her favourites.

Personal life

Kartiki is Indian by nationality and listed as 36 years old as of 2022. Her father, Timothy Aloysius Gonsalves, is a computer engineer who served as director of the Indian Institute of Technology Mandi; her mother holds a PhD in Eastern European history. Kartiki has a sister named Danica. She keeps pets at home, including two dogs—one named Rusty and another Belgian Malinois named Delani—and a cat.

Latest updates

Following the Oscar win, Kartiki spoke about plans to explore other human–animal relationships in future work, mentioning an intention to make a film about an orca and its handler. In May 2023 she was presented with a personalised Chennai Super Kings jersey by MS Dhoni alongside members of The Elephant Whisperers team.

Controversy

In August 2023 a legal notice was reportedly sent to Kartiki by representatives of Bomman and Bellie, the mahouts featured in The Elephant Whisperers, seeking a goodwill payment. The notice and the statements accompanying it were reported in news coverage.
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Recent Work

The Elephant Whisperers

Short documentary film (director) about mahouts and their elephants, released on Netflix; won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film in 2023 (shared with producer Guneet Monga).

2022
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Career Highlights

  1. Directed the Academy Award–winning short documentary The Elephant Whisperers (2022)
  2. Associate Fellow, International League of Conservation Photographers
  3. Founder and director of operations, Earth Spectrum
  4. Brand ambassador roles with CoalitionWILD, Wildcraft India and Peak Design
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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Kartiki Gonsalves born?

2 November 1986

What is Kartiki Gonsalves known for?

Filmmaker and Photojournalist