Born on 24th July 1953 at Madras as daughter of top-notch eminent Carnatic classical singer M.L. Vasanthakumari, An accomplished dancer and singer, Srividya entered the film world at the age of 13 doing a prominent role in the Sivaji Ganesan starrer Tamil film 'Thiruvarul Selvar'. Though not a Malayali, She made it big in Malayalam ever since her debut film 'Chattambikavala' in 1969 with veteran actor Sathyan.

The charming, vivacious and versatile actress Srividya had put up memorable performance in scores of Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi films and she had won several honours, including the Kerala government's best actress award twice. Srividya, who got recognition in Tamil films with a memorable performance as a classical singer in K. Balachander's 1972 film 'Apoorva Raagangal', won the Kalaimamani Award of the Tamil Nadu Government in 1977. She also won the best actress (special) award for her role in `Madhura Geetham' in 1977-78.

Srividya stole the hearts of film buffs in Telugu and other south Indian languages for the last four decades through her memorable portrayal of a variety of roles Starting with teenage romantic roles, she had depicted a variety of characters including that of the suffering housewife, self-reliant woman struggling to keep up one's individuality in a male-dominated society and loving and caring mother and sister. She had acted in over 800 films in six different languages. Of late, she had left a mark on the mini-screen by her splendid performance in several popular Malayalam television serials.

Srividya's debut film in Telugu was 'Thatha Manavadu' directed by Dr. Dasari Narayana Rao and produced by K. Raghava. She did a solo song in this film. Her memorable roles in Telugu included 'Bantrotthu Bhaarya', 'Yasoda Krishna', 'Thoorpu Padamara', 'Kanya Kumari', 'Ramuni Minchina Ramudu''Kathanayakuni Katha', 'Chinnabbayi', 'Dalapathi', D. Ramanaidu's 'Indrudu Chandrudu', 'Paruvu Pratishta', Anjana productions K. Nagendra Babu's 'Mugguru Monagaallu' etc. she had many hit Malayalam films to her credit. Her memorable roles in Malayalam included 'Idvazhiyile Poocha Minda Poocha', based on a story by Gnanpeeth laureate M.T. Vasudevan Nair and 'Deivathinte Vikrithikal', the screen adaptation of novelist M. Mukundan. Her last movie was `London' in 2005.

At the height of her career, Srividya was married to businessman George Thomas but the partnership did not last for long. Her marriage broke long ago and since then she had been a loner.

Totally devoted to art, Srividya kept up her commitment as an actress, although it was known to her that she had cancer about three years back. At the age of 53, she passed away in a private hospital on 19th October 2006 after a long battle with cancer and the end came at 7.55 p.m. The death of Srividya plunged the entire south Indian film world into deep sorrow with film-makers, actors and movie lovers expressing profound grief.

Movie Artistes Association president, Leading producer K. Nagendra Babu, in a message, said Srividya battled cancer with valour and dignity. The versatile and talented artist would be missed by the industry and the audience.