Trisha Krishnan (born 4 May 1983) is an Indian actress known for her work primarily in Tamil and Telugu cinema. One of the highest-paid actresses in India, she has sustained a successful career as a leading actress for over two decades in Tamil cinema. Trisha gained prominence after winning the 1999 Miss Chennai pageant, which marked her entry into cinema. Often referred to as the "Queen of South India", she has received numerous accolades, including five Filmfare Awards South, a Tamil Nadu State Film Award and a Nandi Award.

After debuting with a minor supporting role in the Tamil romantic drama Jodi (1999), Trisha had her first lead role in the film Mounam Pesiyadhe (2002). She rose to fame starring in commercially and critically successful films Saamy (2003), Ghilli (2004), Aaru (2005), and Unakkum Enakkum (2006) in Tamil cinema, and Varsham (2004), Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana (2005), Athadu (2005), Aadavari Matalaku Ardhalu Verule (2007), and Krishna (2008), in Telugu cinema, winning three Filmfare Awards for Best Actress –Telugu, and a Nandi Award for Best actress –Telugu.

Trisha made her Hindi cinema debut by starring in the film Khatta Meetha (2010), her Kannada cinema debut with the film Power (2014), and her Malayalam cinema debut with the film Hey Jude (2018).

Her performances in the comedy drama Abhiyum Naanum (2008), the romantic drama Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010), the action thrillers Yennai Arindhaal (2015), and Thoongaa Vanam (2015), the political thriller Kodi (2016), the romantic drama '96 (2018), the historical dramas Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022), and Ponniyin Selvan: II (2023) and the crime thriller series Brinda (2024), received critical acclaim. Her performances in Abhiyum Naanum, Kodi, and '96 earned her the Tamil Nadu State Film Award, Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress –Tamil and the Filmfare Award for Best Actress –Tamil respectively. Her highest-grossing release to date is the action thriller film Leo (2023).

Trisha Krishnan was born on 4 May 1983 to Krishnan and Uma in Madras, Tamil Nadu into a Tamil Palakkad Iyer family. She completed her schooling from Sacred Heart Matriculation School in Church Park, Chennai, and later pursued a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) course at Ethiraj College for Women, Chennai. She ventured into modelling and appeared in several print and television commercials. In 1999, she won the "Miss Salem" beauty pageant, and later the same year, the Miss Chennai contest. She also won the Miss India 2001 pageant's "Beautiful Smile" award.

Trisha had aspired to become a criminal psychologist initially, and resisted the thought of pursuing acting, as she wanted to complete her studies first. In 2000, she appeared in Falguni Pathak's music video Meri Chunar Udd Udd Jaye alongside Ayesha Takia. She was later approached for an acting role in the Tamil film Lesa Lesa (2003) by Indian film director Priyadarshan, which marked the beginning of her professional career as an actress. She had a tight shooting schedule while in college, making it difficult for her to continue her education. She compensated for this by attending summer classes.

Soon after her pageant success, Trisha began her acting career in a minor supporting role as Simran's friend in the romantic drama Jodi (1999). The first film she accepted was the Priyadarshan directed Lesa Lesa, with the promotional posters for the film, also creating an offer to star in the A. R. Rahman musical hit, Enakku 20 Unakku 18 (2003). However, both the projects' releases were severely delayed, and her first release was Ameer's Mounam Pesiyadhe (2002) opposite Suriya, the film became a moderate success at the box office and managed to gain credentials for Trisha, with critics claiming that she was "undoubtedly a refreshing new find, with sparkling eyes and appealing demeanour", also going onto praise the dubbing artiste, Savitha Reddy, who has since regularly dubbed for Trisha. Manasellam (2003), her second project, saw her play a cancer patient, but the film went unnoticed upon its March release.

Her subsequent release was the Hari-directed action film, Saamy (2003) with Vikram. She played a soft-spoken college-going Brahmin girl and received positive reviews for her performance, with Sify's reviewer citing that she was "appealingly sensual" and looked "glamorous", and another critic writing that she looked "very pretty" and suited the role. The masala flick became the biggest blockbuster of the year, and landed Trisha new offers, including several high-budget productions. Lesa Lesa, which was supposed to be her debut, released later the same month in May 2003. The romantic musical, based on the 1998 Malayalam film Summer in Bethlehem, fetched generally positive reviews. After Lesa Lesa, she appeared in Alai (2003). Her last release of the year was Enakku 20 Unakku 18 (2003).