Sumalatha Ambareesh was born on August 27, 1963, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. She grew up in Bethapudi, Andhra Pradesh, and completed her schooling at St. Joseph’s Convent School in Guntur. Sumalatha began her career in the film industry at the age of 15 after winning a beauty contest in Andhra Pradesh in 1979. She made her acting debut with the Tamil film "Thisai Maariya Paravaigal" (1979) and quickly rose to prominence in various South Indian film industries, including Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and Tamil. Sumalatha was married to the late Kannada actor and politician Ambareesh from December 8, 1991, until his death on November 24, 2018. They had one son, Abhishek Gowda. In addition to her acting career, Sumalatha is also known for her political involvement; she won the Lok Sabha seat from Mandya as an independent candidate in the 2019 elections.