Trisha Krishnan (born 4 May 1983) is an Indian actress and model, who appears in films of 5 languages, predominantly in Tamil and Telugu. She gained prominence after winning the 1999 Miss Chennai pageant, which marked her entry into the film industry. Trisha is often referred 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 appearing in a supporting role in the 1999 Tamil romantic drama Jodi, she had her first lead role in the 2002 film Mounam Pesiyadhe. She rose to fame starring in 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 made her Bollywood debut in the satirical comedy 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 epic historical drama Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022) were met with high critical acclaim; Kodi and '96 earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress (Critics) – Tamil and the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil respectively. Early life Trisha was born on 4 May 1983 to Krishnan Iyer and Uma in Chennai (then known as Madras) 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 modelling 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. She also appeared in Falguni Pathak's music video Meri Chunar Udd Udd Jaye as Ayesha Takia's friend, which was directed by Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru. She was later approached for an acting role