Shanta Rao was a notable dancer from India. She studied and performed Kathakali, Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi.
She was a recipient of the Padma Shri, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Kalidas Samman for Classical Dance.
She was born in 1925 in Bombay, and lived in Mumbai and Bangalore. She hailed from Mangalore. She died on 28 December 2007 at her home at Malleswaram, Bangalore.