Vinaya Prasad hails from Udupi district of Karnataka state. Vinaya made her film debut with a small role in G V Iyer's Madhwacharya in 1988. She worked in smaller character roles before playing the leading lady in Ganeshana Maduve opposite Anant Nag. The film was a huge success and she went on to act in more than 60 films in not only Kannada but also Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. Some of her notable Kannada films include, Ganeshana Maduve, Neenu Nakkare Haalu Sakkare, Gauri Ganesha, Mysore Jaana and Suryodaya. After a successful career as a lead actress, Vinaya switched over to character roles in South Indian films and remains a sought after actress in Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu movies. Vinaya is also an effective compere and singer. Vinaya has compered several important events like Vasantha Habba in Nrityagram and the annual Dasara procession in Mysore.

She starred in a few Malayalam films also before starring in the longest-running and most popular daily soap opera on Malayalam TV, Sthree which aired from late 1998 to mid 2000 on Asianet Television channel. The Kannada version of this serial was also made. The popularity of this soap made her a household name among Malayalis.

She starred in a supporting role in the all-time blockbuster Manichitrathazhu, which starred Mohanlal. In Tamil, Vinaya has acted as the heroine in the hit movie Thaikulame Thaikulame with Pandiarajan and Urvashi in the lead roles. In Telugu, Vinaya's movies include Indra, Donga Dongadi and Andhrudu for which her performance won a lot of praise.

In 2006, she returned to the Malayalam small screen to reprise her role as Indu in the sequel to the original Sthree, also named, Sthree.

Vinaya is from the Udupi district in Karnataka and was brought up in Udupi. She is a Karhade Brahmin. She is married to Jyotiprakash who directs television serials. Vinaya was earlier married to V.R.K Prasad, an award-winning director and editor of Kannada films who expired in 1995 at a young age. She married Jyotiprakash, a former widower, in 2002. Vinaya has an elder sister Vijaya Satyanarayana and twin sisters Kshama Bhat and Kripa Bhat. Her brother Ravi Bhat is in the television industry as an actor. Vinaya currently resides in Bangalore with her husband Jyotiprakash and daughter Prathama Prasad. Jyotiprakash has a son named Jai Atre who is also in to film direction and screen-writing in Mumbai.