Trisha Krishnan (born 4 May 1983), known simply as Trisha, is an Indian actress who works mainly in Tamil and Telugu films. A beauty-pageant winner from Chennai, she became a leading lady in 2003 and has remained one for more than two decades, an unusually long run for an actress in Indian commercial cinema. Her best-known roles include Jessie in Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, Jaanu in 96 and the princess Kundavai in Ponniyin Selvan.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Trisha Krishnan |
| Born | 4 May 1983, Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu |
| Age | 43 |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Known for | Saamy, Ghilli, Varsham, Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana, Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, 96, Ponniyin Selvan |
| Education | Sacred Heart School, Church Park; Ethiraj College for Women, Chennai |
| Awards | Filmfare Awards South; Tamil Nadu State Film Award; Kalaimamani |
Early Life
Trisha was born in Chennai, the only child of Krishnan and Uma. She went to Sacred Heart School at Church Park and studied business administration at Ethiraj College. She intended to become a criminal psychologist. Modelling in print and television advertisements while a student led to pageants: she won the Miss Chennai title in 1999 and the “Beautiful Smile” award at the Miss India contest of 2001.
Career
Breakthrough
After a fleeting uncredited appearance in Jodi (1999) she played her first lead in Mounam Pesiyadhe (2002), opposite Suriya. Saamy (2003), with Vikram, and Ghilli (2004), with Vijay, were two of the biggest Tamil hits of the decade. In Telugu, Varsham (2004), Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana (2005), Athadu with Mahesh Babu and Stalin with Chiranjeevi made her the top actress of that industry too, and she won Filmfare Awards in both languages.
Range
In Abhiyum Naanum (2008) she played a daughter whose independence her doting father struggles to accept. Gautham Vasudev Menon’s Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010) cast her as Jessie, a Malayali Christian woman torn between a young film-maker and her family, a character who became a reference point for Tamil screen romance. She made her Hindi debut the same year in Khatta Meetha, and played against type as a ruthless politician in Kodi (2016).
96 and after
96 (2018), in which two former classmates meet at a school reunion and spend one night talking over what might have been, with Vijay Sethupathi, was a critical and popular triumph and won her another Filmfare Award. Mani Ratnam cast her as Kundavai, the shrewd Chola princess, in Ponniyin Selvan (2022–23). Leo (2023) reunited her with Vijay.
In 2025 she appeared with Ajith Kumar in Vidaamuyarchi and Good Bad Ugly, with Kamal Haasan in Mani Ratnam’s Thug Life and in the Malayalam thriller Identity. In 2026 she starred with Suriya in Karuppu, with the Telugu fantasy Vishwambhara, opposite Chiranjeevi, scheduled to follow.
Public Work
She has been a goodwill ambassador for the animal-welfare organisation PETA, campaigning for the adoption of stray dogs, and was named a celebrity advocate for UNICEF in 2017, speaking on child marriage, child labour and the education of girls in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Awards
She has received several Filmfare Awards South, a Tamil Nadu State Film Award and the Kalaimamani.
Personal Life
She lives in Chennai with her mother, who has managed her career. An engagement announced in 2015 was called off a few months later, and she is unmarried.
Featured image: Trisha Krishnan at a pre-release event for Ponniyin Selvan: I, September 2022. Photo by Verghese T. K., licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
