Trisha Krishnan

Biography

Trisha Krishnan (born 4 May 1983) is an Indian model and actress who works predominantly in Tamil and Telugu films. She gained prominence after winning the 1999 Miss Chennai pageant, which marked her entry into the film industry. Trisha is a recipient of several accolades including five Filmfare Awards South, one Nandi Award, one Tamil Nadu State Film Award, and seven South Indian International Movie Awards. Trisha is often referred to as the "Queen Of South India" for her contributions to the film industries of all of the South Indian languages. She has been ranked among the best actresses of South India by The Times of India.

After marking her debut with a supporting role in the Tamil romantic drama Jodi (1999), Trisha had her first lead role in the 2002 film Mounam Pesiyadhe. She rose to fame starring in commercially successful masala films such as Saamy (2003), Ghilli (2004) and Aaru (2005) in Tamil cinema, and Varsham (2004), Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana (2005), Athadu (2005) and Aadavari Matalaku Ardhalu Verule (2007) in Telugu cinema, winning three Filmfare Awards for Best Actress – Telugu for Varsham, Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana and Aadavari Matalaku Ardhalu Verule.

Trisha has also starred in the Hindi film Khatta Meetha (2010). Her performances in the comedy-drama Abhiyum Naanum (2008), the romantic drama Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010), the political thriller Kodi (2016), the romantic drama '96 (2018), and the historical dramas Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022) and Ponniyin Selvan: II (2023) were met with critical acclaim. Her performance in Kodi and '96 earned her the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress – Tamil and the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil, respectively.

Trisha was born on 4 May 1983 to Krishnan Iyer and Uma Iyer in Madras (now Chennai) into a Palakkad Tamil Brahmin family. She completed schooling at the Sacred Heart Matriculation School in Church Park, Chennai, and later pursued a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) course at the Ethiraj College for Women (Chennai). She ventured into modeling and appeared in several print and television commercials. In 1999, she won the "Miss Salem" beauty pageant, and later the same year, the Miss Chennai contest. She had also won the Miss India 2001 pageant's "Beautiful Smile" award. She follows a vegetarian diet.

Trisha had aspired to become a criminal psychologist initially, and resisted the thought of pursuing acting, as she wanted to complete her studies first. In 2000, she appeared in Falguni Pathak's music video Meri Chunar Udd Udd Jaye as Ayesha Takia's friend. She was later approached for an acting role in the Tamil film Lesa Lesa (2003) by Indian film director Priyadarshan, which marked the beginning of her professional career as an actress. She followed a tight shooting schedule while in college, making it difficult for her to continue her education. She compensated for this by attending summer classes.