Jagapati Babu was born on 12 February 1962, in Machilipatnam to veteran producer-director V. B. Rajendra Prasad.

Jagapati Babu was brought up in Chennai, Tamil Nadu before making a mark in Tollywood.

Jagapati Babu made his debut in Telugu with the movie Simha Swapnam(1989) which was produced by his father and directed by V. Madhusudhan Rao.

Jagapati Babu first blockbuster film is Peddarikam released in 1992.

In a career spanning 25 years, Jagapati Babu has starred in over 120 feature films, and has received 2 Filmfare Awards and 7 state Nandi Awards.

Jagapati Babu had his breakthrough in the form of Gaayam directed by Ram Gopal Varma in the year 1993.

In 1994, with the super hit film Subha Lagnam, he reaches family audience and also established his star status.

Jagapati Babu won the Nandi Award for Best Actor in 1996 for his role in the movie Maavichiguru directed by S V Krishna Reddy.

Jagapati Babu first Tamil was Madrasi, and in 2012, he appeared as the antagonist in Tamil film Thaandavam.

Jagapati Babu has worked with noted directors like K. Raghavendra Rao, A. M. Rathnam, Ram Gopal Varma, Krishna Vamsi, S.V. Krishna Reddy, E. V. V. Satyanarayana, Guna Sekhar, Radha Mohan, Chandra Sekhar Yeleti, M. Raja, and J. D. Chakravarthy.