Samantha was born on 28 April 1987 to Joseph Prabhu and Ninette Prabhu. Her father is a [[Telugu people|Telugu]] [[Anglo-Indian]] and her mother is a [[Malayalis|Malayali]] [[Saint Thomas Christians|Syrian Christian]] from [[Alappuzha|Alleppey, KeralaMalayali]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Chowdhary |first=Y. Sunita |date=12 May 2012 |title=Away from the rat race |newspaper=The Hindu |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/away-from-the-rat-race/article3402317.ece |url-status=live |access-date=11 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129085457/http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/away-from-the-rat-race/article3402317.ece |archive-date=29 January 2016}}</ref> She was born and brought up in a [[Christian]] family in the [[Pallavaram]] neighborhood of [[Chennai]], [[Tamil Nadu]],<ref name="Samantha raised in Pallavaram2">{{cite news |title=Samantha raised in Pallavaram |publisher=[[Firstpost]] |url=http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/meet-samantha-souths-hottest-heroine-1662705.html |url-status=live |access-date=14 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813114551/http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/meet-samantha-souths-hottest-heroine-1662705.html |archive-date=13 August 2014}}</ref> as the youngest child of the family, with two elder brothers, Jonath and David. She can speak both [[Tamil language|Tamil]] and [[Telugu language|Telugu]] fluently.<ref name="tamilsam22">{{cite news |author=Y. Sunita Chowdury |date=1 March 2010 |title=Poised on the edge |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |url=http://beta.thehindu.com/arts/cinema/article124253.ece |url-status=live |access-date=1 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726225549/http://beta.thehindu.com/arts/cinema/article124253.ece |archive-date=26 July 2010}}</ref><ref name="tamilsam32">{{cite news |author=Prakash, B |date=7 March 2010 |title=It wasn't a liplock really: Samantha |newspaper=[[The Times of India]] |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/news-interviews/It-wasnt-a-liplock-really-Samantha/articleshow/5651555.cms |url-status=live |access-date=7 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308230712/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/news-interviews/It-wasnt-a-liplock-really-Samantha/articleshow/5651555.cms |archive-date=8 March 2010}}</ref> As a part of her education, Samantha was schooled at [[Holy Angels Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School]] and then completed a degree in [[commerce]] at [[Stella Maris College, Chennai]].<ref name="tamilsam22" /><ref>{{cite web |title=South Star Samantha Found Her Old Report Cards, Posted Them on Facebook |url=http://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/south-star-samantha-found-her-old-report-cards-posted-them-on-facebook-1431845 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160716134316/http://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/south-star-samantha-found-her-old-report-cards-posted-them-on-facebook-1431845 |archive-date=16 July 2016 |access-date=16 July 2016}}</ref> Towards the end of her undergraduate degree, she became involved in modelling, notably working with Naidu Hall, through which she was first spotted by filmmaker [[Ravi Varman]].<ref name="ravivarman" />
