Jasmine Mary Joseph was but a schoolgirl who went off with her friends to watch a film shoot in their small town Kattupuzha, near Thiruvalla, Kerala. Becoming an actress was the last thing on her mind. She had always wanted to be a doctor.

Director Lohithadas spied the attractive face and something told him she was meant for great things as an actress. But Jasmine and her family were surprised and uncertain.
The conservative, God-fearing, small-town Christian community to which they belonged perhaps looked askance at the acting profession. Something made the girl say yes and the rest, as you now know, is history. And Jasmine Mary became Meera Jasmine.

Lohithadas cast her opposite the current leading man Dileep in Soothradharan. She lived up to the promise he had spotted. There could have been lots more Malayalam films for her in its wake. But then she got an offer to play heroine against the Tamil heartthrob Madhavan in Run.
Run became a huge success and though she did have a run of mediocre Tamil films thereafter, she caught the eye of Mani Rathnam, who cast her in Aayutha Ezhuthu, again, opposite Madhavan. Thereafter she received offer after offer from Tamil and Telugu producers. Her work in Malayalam was limited.

Apart from the response and recognition she earned in Tamil, the yellow film press of Kerala was a strong reason for her to stay away from Malayalam films. She, however, did not forsake her mother-tongue altogether, and gave a noteworthy performance in Swapnakkoodu by Kamal. The film was a hit. The press that had spread stories on her still attacked her for acting in more of non-Malayalam films.

She also displayed good sense and commitment to serious cinema when she agreed to do the role of Shahina in TV Chandran's Paatham Onnu - Oru Vilaapam. Chandran's cinema belongs to a different genre and is far from the glitter, tinsel and money associated with Telugu and Tamil films. The cognoscenti recognize the sterling performance returned by her in a very difficult role - that of a veritable child bride as a second wife for an elderly man.

The selectors for the National Award for the Best Actress agreed. The small-town girl from Kerala has come a long way on her journey to recognition and fame.

She is also well on her way to become a real multilingual actress: already she has signed to work opposite Puneet Rajkumar in Kannada.