Vijayalakshmi is an Indian actress who has predominantly appeared in Kannada and Tamil films. In 1997, she won Filmfare Award for Best Actress in Kannada for her performance in her debut Kannada film Nagamandala as Rani.

Early life

Vijayalakshmi was born in Madras (now Chennai) and did her studies in Bangalore, Karnataka. She has a sister named Usha who was married to Jayaprada's brother.

Career

Film

Vijayalakshmi acted in nearly 40 films in her career. She has acted in nearly 25 Kannada films. During her stint as an actress, she was recognised for her beauty and performance. She debuted in director T. S. Nagabharana's film Nagamandala, based on a folk tale, opposite Prakash Raj. She made her debut in Tamil with the film Poonthottam. She is best known in Tamil for her role in the film Friends along with Vijay and Suriya. The film was a hit and after that, she acted in many films including Kalakalappu, Ramachandra, Military and Soori. She returned to the Tamil film industry again with the comedy film Boss Engira Bhaskaran, which became one of 2010's successes. In Telugu, she was recognised in the film Hanuman Junction. She has also acted in one Malayalam film, Devadoothan, with Mohanlal.

Television

She has also acted in some Tamil television serials. She also was an anchor of the game show Bangarada Bete, produced by Radaan Media Works.

Personal life

Vijayalakshmi resided in Chennai for a few years. In 2006, it was reported that Vijayalakshmi attempted suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills after being harassed by an assistant director who wanted to marry her. The decision came at the end of a difficult year for her in which her father also had died, but she survived and recovered thereafter. In November 2006 she announced her engagement to actor Srujan Lokesh, with the wedding pencilled in for March 2007 but the engagement was broken off due to incompatibility. Vijayalakshmi filed a complaint in February 2020 accusing Seeman of cheating her after being in a relationship with her and claimed that he had not married her despite making promises. After being allegedly harassed by Seeman and his supporters, she attempted suicide again in July 2020 by overdosing on blood pressure tablets and was admitted to hospital.

Partial filmography

Television