Best known for playing supporting roles in Tamil cinema, Uma Padmanabhan is a film and TV actress and a socialite. Having completed her graduation in commerce from SIET, Nandanam, she applied for a job as a compere at SUN TV when the channel was founded in 1993. Uma got the job and after working as a news reader for a brief time, she was eventually chosen to host the Tamil program, Vanakkam Tamizhagam.

Her stint with Sun TV as a host and anchor opened up a new path for her to act in cinema; she got her big break in 1998 when she made her debut on the silver screen with Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen. Post her debut, the actress did not get much work in films for four years. She made her comeback to films with Hey! Nee Romba Azhaga Irukke in 2002, her performance was liked by the audience the critics and she subsequently started receiving many offers. Her most notable films like include Sivaji (2007), Sivi (2007), Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010), Venghai (2011), Aarohanam (2012), Ehtiri En 3 (2015), Gethu (2016) and Uyire Uyire (2016). She is associated with Yenda Thalaiyila Yenna Vekkala (2018), a comedy horror directed by Vignesh Karthick.