Meera Jasmine (born Jasmine Mary Joseph on 15 February 1984) popular Indian actress.

Meera Jasmine was born to Joseph Philip and Aleyamma in Kuttappuzha, Tiruvalla, Kerala, India. She completed her schooling in Mar Thoma Residential School in Tiruvalla, before her entry into films.

A chance meeting with Malayalam screenwriter Lohithadas gave way to her debut in Malayalam Cinema through the movie Soothradharan in 2001. She assumed the screen name "Meera" Jasmine, reportedly out of her fascination for Meera, a mystical devotee of Lord Krishna. ^[1]

Soothradharan did not do well at the box office. However, she continued to receive offers from Malayalam and Tamil film-makers, including the 2002 Tamil films Run and Bala.

The success of Run made her a well-known star in Kollywood. She did a number of Tamil movies with popular actors, and then proceeded to work with director Mani Ratnam in the film Aayitha Ezhuthu.

Her 2003 Malayalam film Paadhom Onnu: Oru Vilaapam (roughly translates into 'Lesson One: A Lament'), won her India's National Film Award for Best Actress.

She entered Telugu cinema in 2004 with Ammayi Bagundi and Gudumba Shankar. She also entered Kannada cinema in 2004 with the film Mourya, in which she co-starred with Puneet Rajkumar.

After making her entry into all four South Indian languages, she has acted concurrently in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. Her successful movies include Achuvinte Amma (Malayalam), Bhadra (Telugu) and Rasatantram (Malayalam).

Her 2005 Tamil film Sandakozhi completed 200 days at the box office.She is selected to play a significant role in a Hindi film directed by Maniratnam.

Despite being a Christian by birth, Meera Jasmine is known for visiting Hindu temples ^[2]. She is a self-confessed fan of Tamil cinema's composer Ilayaraaja ^[3]. She currently lives in Panampilly Nagar in Kochi. She is often the target of the South's yellow press.

• Meera Jasmine