Jayanthi was born in Bellary, in the erstwhile Madras Presidency of British India. Her maiden name before she came to films was Kamala Kumari. Her father Balasubramanyam worked as English professor at the St Joseph's College in Bangalore. Her mother was Santhanalakshmi. Jayanthi was the eldest of three siblings and had two younger brothers.

Jayanthi's childhood was never smooth. Her parents separated when she was young and her mother took the children and moved to Madras. Jayanthi's mother was keen on making her daughter a classical dancer and hence she joined a dance school run by Chandrakala. Her friend in dance school was the famous Tamil actress Manorama.

Initial struggle

As a child, Jayanthi went to the studios to see her idol N T Rama Rao. He called her and made her sit on his lap. Affectionately, he had asked her whether she would agree to become his heroine and the little girl had merely blushed. The pair would go on later in life to produce successful films such as Jagadeka Veeruni Katha, Kula Gowravam, Kondaveeti Simham and Justice Chowdhury.

Jayanthi was ridiculed most of the time as she was plump and could never dance well. During her teens, she had the chance to act in a few Tamil and Telugu movies in bit parts. Jayanthi was shattered after the episode, but promised herself that one day she would prove her worth. She enjoyed a good run in the Kannada Film industry and formed very good pair with the famous actor and doyen of Kannada Cinema Rajkumar, with whom she acted in more than 30 movies.

Jayanthi's life changed completely when noted Kannada director Y. R. Swamy spotted her during one of her dance rehearsals. He brought her to Kannada films such as Jenu Goodu. He also changed her name to Jayanthi.

Rise to fame

Jeenu Goodu was Jayanthi's first Kannada film. She was married to Film Director Peketi Sivaram. He backed her all the way and very soon she became a famous actress in Kannada. She acted alongside veterans such as K. S. Ashwath and Pandari Bai. Incidentally, this was actress Chandrakala's first film as well. Jenu Goodu was a commercial success. Her next major film was T. V. Singh Thakur's Chandavalliya Thota. The film starred veteran actors Udaya Kumar, Rajkumar and Jayashree. This was the first film that paired Raj and Jayanthi. Based on Ta Ra Su's novel by the same name, Chandavalliya Thota was a huge success and even won the President's Medal for best film. Jayanthi, in one of her interviews fondly remembered an incident during the shooting of this film. During a particular scene, Jayanthi's character dies and Uday Kumar has to fall on her to cry. Uday Kumar was so engrossed in his acting that he had forgotten that he had put his whole body weight on the young girl Jayanthi, who was yelling in pain and asking him to get up.

The next major film that Jayanthi starred in was Miss Leelavathi, directed by M. R. Vittal. This film was released in the mid-60s. Miss Leelavathi was a very bold film for its time and Jayanthi played the title role. The story is about the influence of bad parenting on young Leelavathi's mind. She is the darling of her father (Ashwath), who supports her in all her endeavours. Leelavathi grows up to be rebel in the house and stands up against the conventional values of life. She refuses marriage, wishes to be a career-oriented women and has a care-free attitude towards premarital sex. Unfortunately, she pays the consequences.

Miss Leelavathi had a very bold theme considering the fact that it was made at a time when the film industry was very conservative. Jayanthi was launched as the glamour-diva through the film and she was at her best. This was probably the first Kannada film to show-case a heroine's glamour. The film was a huge success and catapulted Jayanthi to fame. Jayanthi, for the first time in Kannada film history wore skirts, T-shirts and even a nightie on screen. She is credited for introducing most of the modern day outfits onto the Kannada screen for the first time. She also wore a swimsuit for the film, which the producers' first choice for the role had refused to do. Miss Leelavathi had some of the lovely songs such as "Nodu Ba Nodu Ba Nammoora" and Kuvempu's classic "Doni Saagali". Miss Leelavathi got Jayanthi the President's award. Jayanthi fondly remembered the occasion in one of her interviews when she received the award from Smt Indira Gandhi (then IB Minister). Mrs Gandhi, after giving away the award called back Jayanthi and gave her a sweet kiss and wished her good luck. She has also acted in numerous films with Kalyan Kumar.

Due to her stint in Tamil films from 1962 to 1973, she became nationally famous. She was frequently paired opposite Gemini Ganesan. In Tamil she acted with all major stars including M.G. Ramachandran, Gemini Ganeshan, Muhuraman and Jaishankar. She acted with M. G. Ramachandran in Padagotti and Mugaraasi, with Gemini Ganeshan in Kanna Nalama, Velli Vizha, Punnagai and Iru Kodugal, with Jaishankar in Nil Gavani Kadhali and Kaadhal Paduthum Paadu and Ethir Neechal with Nagesh. She was director K. Balachander's regular actress and they went on to work in films such as Iru Kodugal, Bama Vijayam, Ethir Neechal, Punnagai, Velli Vizha and Kanna Nalama. She acted with Jayalalitha and Manorama in the film Mugaraasi.

Films with Rajkumar

Jayanthi has paired with actor Rajkumar in a record number of films (45). This is the highest ever number of films which Rajkumar has ever paired with any actress.^[3]

In 2009, she gave her voice to an HIV/AIDS education animated software tutorial created by the nonprofit organization TeachAIDS.^[4]

Karnataka State Film Awards

• 1973-74 - Best Actress – Edakallu Guddada Mele
• 1976-77 - Best Actress – Manassinanthe Mangalya
• 1981-82 - Best Actress – Dharma Dari Thappithu
• 1985-86 - Best Actress – Masanada Hoovu
• 1986-87 - Best Supporting Actress - Anand
• 1998-99 - Best Supporting Actress - Tuvvi Tuvvi Tuvvi
• 2005-06 - Dr. Rajkumar Award

Filmfare Awards South

• 1973 - Best Actress - Edakallu Guddada Mele
• 1976 - Best Actress - Tulasi

Kannada films

Tamil films

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Malayalam films

• Palattu Koman (1962)
• Kattupookkal (1965)
• Kaliyodam (1965)
• Lakshaprabhu (1968)
• Karutha Pournami (1968)
• Vilakkappetta Kani (1974)

Telugu films

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Hindi films

• Teen Bahuraniyan (1968)
• Gunda (1970)
• Tumse accha kaun hai (1969)

English shows

• Brown Nation (2016)