Catherine Tresa


Catherine Tresa Alexander is an Indian film actress who appears in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films.

Early life

Catherine was born to Malayali parents Frank Mario Alexander and Tresa Alexander in Dubai. She did her Class 12 in Dubai and moved to Bangalore for higher education..
While studying, she learnt to play piano, and got trained in singing, dancing, ice skating and debating, stating that she believes that she is "good at anything I put my mind to". In Dubai, Catherine was an Emirates Environment volunteer. At the age of 14, Catherine did some amateur modelling for fashion design graduate students. After coming to India, she modeled for Nalli Silks, Chennai Silks, Fast Track, Josco Jewellers and Deccan Chronicle. She has also shot for Srikantadatta Wodeyar's Maharaja Calendar and had participated with Prasad Bidapa in numerous ramp shows across India.

Career

Catherine Tresa made her acting debut in 2010 Kannada film Shankar IPS opposite Duniya Vijay. Catherine went on to act in the Malayalam films, The Thriller and . In 2011, she did a role in the Kannada film Vishnu that she said was "equally opposite to her real life".
It was followed by the Kannada film Godfather opposite Upendra, which was directed by cinematographer turned film-maker Sethu Sriram. Catherine's character in the film was that of an older mentally challenged woman. Her performance earned her her first nomination for an award in the Best Supporting Actress category at the 60th Filmfare Awards South.
She next signed up for Chammak Challo directed by Neelakanta, in which she played "an urbane, bold and dynamic girl". It released in February 2013 and failed at the box office, but she got noticed and received positive reviews. APHerald.com called her "a treat to watch" and 123telugu.com noted that "she has the potential to be a superstar in future if she plays her cards right".
Catherine played one of the female leads in Puri Jagannath's Telugu film Iddarammayilatho. The film released in June 2013 and won her rave reviews. Times of India reported "Catherine Tresa perfectly suits the character of Akanksha". Shirirag.com called her "cigarette smoking hot" while Idlebrain Jeevi in his review noted "with a bit of fine-tuning she can become big in Telugu films".
She next appeared in Paisa by Krishna Vamsi playing a Muslim in the film, "who is sweet, very inhibited and talks a lot with her eyes" and called it "a total contrast to what I play in Chammak Challo". In 2014, she made her foray into the Tamil film industry with Madras in which she starred opposite Karthi. The second Tamil film is the S Thanu production, Kanithan directed by débutante Santosh in which she will be starring opposite Adharvaa. She has been signed for two Telugu films: Gunasekhar's Rudhramadevi, touted to be the first Indian 3D historic film, and Errabus which is being directed and produced by Dasari Narayana Rao.

Filmography

Denotes films that have not yet been released

YearTitleRoleDirectorLanguageNotes
2010Shankar IPSShilpaM. S. RameshKannadaKannada debut
2010The ThrillerMeeraB. UnnikrishnanMalayalamMalayalam debut
2011Uppukandam Brothers Back in ActionVinila SathyaneshanT. S. Suresh BabuMalayalam
2011VishnuAbhijithKannada
2012GodfatherVaaniSethu SriramKannada
2013Chammak ChalloSunainaNeelakantaTeluguTelugu debut
2013IddarammayilathoAkanshaPuri JagannadhTelugu
2014PaisaNoorKrishna VamsiTelugu
2014MadrasKalaiarasiPa. RanjithTamilTamil debut
2014ErrabusRajiDasari Narayana RaoTelugu
2015RudhramadeviAnnambikaGunasekharTelugu
2016KathakaliMeenu KuttyPandirajTamil
2016KanithanAnuT. N. SantoshTamil
2016SarrainoduMLA Hansitha ReddyBoyapati SrinuTelugu
2017KadambanRathiN. RagavanTamil
2017Goutham NandaMugdhaSampath NandiTelugu
2017Nene Raju Nene MantriDevika RaniTejaTelugu
2017Jaya Janaki NayakaHerselfBoyapati SrinuTeluguSpecial appearance in the song "A for Apple"
2017Katha NayaganKanmaniTha. MurugananthamTamil
2018Kalakalappu 2HemaSundar C.Tamil
2019Vantha Rajavathaan VaruvenPriyaSundar C.Tamil
2019Neeya 2DivyaL. SureshTamil
2019AruvamJyothiSai SekharTamil
2020World Famous LoverSmitaKranthi MadhavTelugu
2020------

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryFilmResult
201360th Filmfare Awards SouthBest Supporting Actress – KannadaGodfather
20143rd South Indian International Movie AwardsBest Female Debut – TeluguChammak Challo
2015Ananda Vikatan Cinema AwardsBest Debut ActressMadras
2015Edison AwardsBest Debut ActressMadras
201562nd Filmfare Awards SouthBest Actress – TamilMadras
201562nd Filmfare Awards SouthBest Female Debut – TamilMadras
20154th South Indian International Movie AwardsBest Female Debut – TamilMadras
201865th Filmfare Awards SouthBest Supporting Actress – TeluguNene Raju Nene Mantri