Jayashree Raj

Jayashree hails from Gonikoppal, a town in the Kodagu district of Karnataka.^[3] Her parents Rajanna and Jagadamba ran a pharmacy store in Bangalore. Jayashree did her schooling there at the Nehru Smaraka Vidya Kendra Trust. Jayashree did not rceive formal education after her matriculation, considering she began screen acting when in school.^[4] While in school, she was an athlete and represented her school as a volleyball and a kho kho player. She also trained as a classical dancer.^[5] She earned a bachelor's degree in arts from Mysore Open University.^[4] In an interview with Deccan Herald in 2001, Jayashree recalled that she was first noticed by popular television director T. N. Seetharam, who offered a role in his serial, Mayamruga.^[5]

Jayashree made her screen debut in the mid-1990s with the television serial titled Kathegara, which was a collection of short stories adapted to the small screen, in P. Lankesh's Umapatiya Scholarship Yatre, when she was 13. In Seetharam's Mayamruga, she played the second daughter of Shastri. Jayashree would go on to star in multiple serials in the mid- to late-1990s, often appearing in serials that would run parallelly, considering most serials during the time ran to 13, 26 or 52 episodes.^[4] Some of them include Chakra which was aired on DD Chandana, and Minchumareyadavaru, Sulivu, Haavina Hejje, Chaduranga and Kathasagara. Jayashree also compered a musical programme Sangeetha Sagara, and hosted a talk show titled Namaste ETV in 2001.^[5]

Jayashree's film debut came in Ravichandran's Preethsod Thappa (1998). She played the daughter of Srinivasa Murthy's character. She would go on to play supporting roles in Sparsha (2000), Bannada Hejje (2000) and Majnu (2001).^[5]

Jayashree would go on to play lead roles in mega serials such Rathasapthami, Guptagamini and Punyakoti, all of which completed 1,000 episodes. However, in 2014, after acting roles dried up, she turned to direction. In 2017, along with her husband Rakesh Chandru, she produced and directed Aramane for Udaya TV. She called the project being "...like an oasis for a thirsty traveller in a desert."^[4] It was her 50th serial as an actress.^[6] In 2019, the couple produced Kasturi Nivasa.^[1] In addition to production, Jayashree continued to act in serials. In 2025, she appeared in Telugu serials such as Padamati Sandhyaragam and Malli.^[1] In Jhansi, a courtroom drama, she played a lawyer Mrunalini, who has confrontations with the titular character.^[7]

Jayashree has been married twice. She was first married to Ganesh Prasad, a US-based engineer, in April 2002.^[8] The couple divorced in November 2006. They had a daughter together,^[9] Anagha Abhivandana.^[4] Jayashree is presently married to Chandrashekhar, also known as Rakesh Chandru,^[1] a television actor and director. They met on the sets of Brungada Benneri, which had Jayashree playing the lead role in, and Chandru serving as production manager. They would go on to star together in Samaagama. In an interview with Deccan Herald in 2017, Jayashree mentioned that she has been married to him for 14 years.^[4]

• List of Indian television actresses