Jasmine Mary Joseph, better known by her screen name, Meera Jasmine, a National Award winning actress is known to be one of the best thespian talents in the South Indian film industry. With her innate ability to portray different of roles with panache, she stands out among her contemporaries. With her stellar performances in movies the actress has won the heart of a billion cinema lovers across the world. Meera who has worked in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films is known to have the innate ability to get into the skin of the characters she portrays. She started her career in 2001 with the Malayalam film, Soothradharan and since then appeared in more than 30 films and along the way picked up several awards.

Early Life
Born in Kuttapuzha village, Thiruvalla, Kerala, Meera Jasmine is the daughter of Joseph and Aleyamma. Meera Jasmine along with her two sisters named Jiby Sara Joseph and Jeny Susan Joseph and two brothers had a simple upbringing. The actress went to two different schools, viz. Bala Vihar and Marthoma Resident School. After completing her Higher Secondary Exams in 2000, she enrolled at the Assumption College, Changanassery to pursue her graduation degree in BSc Zoology, however, she dropped out of college after three months when she was offered a role in in the Malayalam film, Soothradharan by director Lohitdas.

Meera never wanted to become an actor; she once said, "I was just an ordinary girl. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine being in films. I had not acted even in school plays. I never was the artistic type, I never thought I could dance, and I had not even thought of myself as being beautiful." She also said that she owes all the fame and stardom to Lohithadas and that the director is like a father figure and guru to her.

Personal Life
Meera Jasmine is married to Anil John who works as an engineer in Dubai. The couple tied the knot in February 2014.

Movie Career
Meera Jasmine started her acting career with the Malayalam film, Soothradharan in 2001. The actress bagged the role while she in college after director A.K. Lohitdas spotted her and although initially reluctant to feature in a film, Meera eventually accepted the role. The film co-starring Dileep failed miserably at the box office. After her debacle debut, the actress made her debut in the Tamil film industry in 2002; she starred in two films, Run and Bala. Whilst Run directed by N. Linguswamy and co-starring R. Madhavan was a blockbuster at the box office, the latter received mixed critical reviews and turned out to be an average grosser.

In 2003, the actress had a busy year as well as one of the most successful years in her career. The actress had eight releases in the year, five Malayalam films and three Tamil films. The actress went on to win her maiden Filmfare Award for Best Malayalam Actress for her brilliant performance in Kasthoorimann. The same year, she also won her first National Film Award for Best Actress for the Malayalam film, Paadam Onnu: Oru Vilapam. Her other notable films of the year include Pudhiya Geethai, Anjaneya and Chakram.

After a successful year in 2003, the actress continued her good run in 2004 and also made her debut in the Telugu film industry with Ammayi Bagundi directed by Balasekaran and starring Sivaji, Ali, and Bramhanandam. The film, which was the remake the super hit Tamil film, Parthiban Kanavu starring Srikanth and Sneha, it fared decently well at the box office. In the same year, the actress starred in the critically acclaimed, Aaytha Ezhuthu, a Tamil anthology political drama film written and directed by Mani Ratnam. The film featuring an ensemble cast, Suriya Sivakumar, R. Madhavan, Siddharth, Trisha Krishnan, and Esha Deol, was also shot simultaneously in Hindi as Yuva but with a completely different cast. The actress rounded off the year on a high; She won the Asianet Award for Best Actress as she next starred in a Malayalam film titled Perumazhakkalam alongside Dileep, Kavya Madhavan, Vineeth, and Mamukkoya. The film directed by Kamal received wide crucial acclaim and went on to win the National film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues.

Whilst 2004 proved to be a successful year for Meera, 2005 brought her more fame, and awards. In her only Malayalam film of the year, the actress starred in Sathyan Anthikkad directed comedy-drama film, Achuvinte Amma. The film co-starring Narain, and Urvashi not only won wide appreciation from the critics but also won several awards including Filmfare Aware for Best Film - Malayalam and Meera for her stellar performance walked away with Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Malayalam and Asianet Award for Best Actress. In the same year, the actress had two releases in Tamil, Sandakozhi, and Kasthuri Maan. Whilst the former did recently well at the box office, it was the latter film that got Meera great adulation. The film directed by A.K. Lothihadas was based on the story of a young college girl who helps her lover accomplish his dream of becoming and IAS officer while battling her own problems. Upon release in theaters, it got positive reviews and Meera for her outstanding performance won Tamil Nadu State Special Award for Best Actress.

In 2007, the actress added another feather to her illustrious career cap as she made her debut in the Kannada film industry with Arasu directed by Mahesh Babu. The film co-starring Puneeth Rajkumar, Ramya, and Shriya Saran was a blockbuster. Later in the year, the actress starred in the Malayalam film Ore Kadal which won her three awards including Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress, Filmfare Award for Best Malayalam Actress and Asianet Award for Best Actress. The following year, Meera had one of the busiest years of her career (as of 2016) as she had films to her name. In her only Tamil film of the year, Meera shared the screen with Bharath, Govind Namdeo, Prem and Sangeetha in V.Z. Durai directed film titled Nepali. The film however was panned by the critics and it bombed at the box office.

Between 2009 and 2012 the actress had 15 films across Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil languages and most of the films did well at the box office except for the Tamil film Mambattiyan, which failed at the box office. Post-2012, Meera focused more on acting in Malayalam films and in 2013 she had three releases in Malayalam. In her first releases of the year, she appeared in Lisammayude Veedu, which was written and directed by Babu Janardhanan. The film fared decently at the box office and Meera was much appreciated by both the critics and audiences for brilliant portraying the role of the central character, Lisamma. The actress followed up with good performances in Inga Enna Solluthu (2014), a Tamil film directed by Vincent Selva and Ithinumappuram (2015). Her 2016 releases include Pathu Kalpanakal directed by Don Max and featuring Anoop Menon, Prashant Narayanan, Thampi Antony, Joju George, and Kaniha.