Early life and family

Vijay was born on 22 June 1974[1] as Joseph Vijay in Madras (now Chennai). His father S. A. Chandrasekhar is a Tamil film director and his mother Shoba is a playback singer and carnatic vocalist. He had a sister Vidhya, who died when she was two years old. His sisters death affected Vijay greatly; according to his mother, Vijay, who was very talkative, naughty and hyperactive as a child, became silent after Vidhya's death.[15] Vidhya's story is depicted in the 2005 film Sukran, in which Vijay played an extended cameo.[16][better source needed]

He is a Roman Catholic, and received his first Holy Communion at a church in Chennai.[17] Initially attending Fathima Matriculation Higher Secondary School[18] at Kodambakkam, he later joined Balalok Matriculation Higher Secondary School[19] at Virugambakkam and went on to pursue a degree in Visual Communications from Loyola College. He eventually dropped out as he was more interested in acting.[15]