Catherine Tresa

Catherine Tresa Alexander (born 10 September 1989) is an Indian actress and model. She has established her career in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada & Malayalam films. She made her film debut in 2010 in the film Shankar IPS.

Early life Catherine Tresa was born to Malayali parents, Frank Mario Alexander and Tresa Alexander in Dubai. She finished her high school education in Dubai and moved to Bengaluru for higher education. While studying, she learnt to play piano, and got trained in singing, dancing, ice skating and debating, stating that she believes 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 amateur modelling for fashion design graduate students. After moving 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 collaborated with Prasad Bidapa in numerous ramp shows across India. Catherine went on to act in the Malayalam films, The Thriller and Uppukandam Brothers: Back in Action. 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 (2012) 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, 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 Jagannadh'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".

Catherine next appeared in Paisa (2014) by Krishna Vamsi playing a Muslim girl 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[ed] in Chammak Challo". She made her foray into the Tamil film industry with Madras (2014) in which she starred opposite Karthi. She then appeared in two Telugu films: Erra Bus (2014), directed and produced by Dasari Narayana Rao. followed by Gunasekhar's Rudhramadevi (2015). the first Indian 3D historic film.

The next Tamil film was Pandiraj"s Kathakali (2016) starring Vishal followed by Kalaipuli S. Thanu production, Kanithan (2016) directed by débutante Santosh in which she will be starring opposite Atharvaa. She was seen in the action-drama film such as Sarrainodu (2016), Goutham Nanda (2017) and Nene Raju Nene Mantri (2017) which have received positive reviews. She also worked with the director Sundar C in the comedy films, Kalakalappu 2 (2018), Vantha Rajavathaan Varuven (2019) and Gangers (2025).

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Film Result 2013 60th Filmfare Awards South Best Supporting Actress – Kannada Godfather 2014 3rd South Indian International Movie Awards Best Female Debut – Telugu Chammak Challo 2015 Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards Best Debut Actress Madras Vijay Awards Edison Awards 62nd Filmfare Awards South Best Actress – Tamil Best Female Debut – Tamil 4th South Indian International Movie Awards Best Female Debut – Tamil 2018 65th Filmfare Awards South Best Supporting Actress – Telugu Nene Raju Nene Mantri