KPAC Beatrice

K. P. A. C. Beatrice is an Indian theatre actress from Kerala. She received many awards including the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award in 1988 and the Kerala State Award for drama acting in 1998 and the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship for the year 2019.

Biography Beatrice was born to Vakko and Mariam of the Ilanjikkal family in Fort Kochi. While Beatrice working as a heroine in K. P. A. C. plays, her marriage with Joseph, a native of Pathanamthitta was fixed. But due to her affliations with the Communist Party of India, there were disgareements within the church about conducting the marriage. Finally, it was decided that if Beatrice agreed to hold a wooden cross and attend the masses (Qurbana), the marriage can be conducted. Beatrice gave her consent and she married Joseph in 1962, following which she took a break from acting for about six years. Bindu is her youngest daughter. Then, at the age of thirteen, she joined P. J. Antony's troupe. That play was performed in about a hundred stages. It was in 1957, people including Thoppil Bhasi invited her to KPAC. The first play she acted in KPAC was 'Survekkallu'. Later, she acted in plays like 'Mudiyanaya Putran', and 'Enik maranamilla', and travelled all over Kerala with the KPAC troupe.

After leaving KPAC, she worked in Cochin Sangamithra for eight years and later in other troupes in Kerala like Suryasoma, Angamaly Pooja, Thiruvananthapuram Aradhana, Kundamkulam Geethanjali, Poonjar Navadhara, and Vaikom Malavika.

Awards and honors Beatrice received the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award in 1988 and the State Award for drama acting in 1998 for her performance in Angamaly Pooja's 'Deshavilakku'. In 2025, she received the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) V. T. Bhattathiripad Memorial State Drama Award.