[citation needed] For her performance in the movie Gowdru, Jaya won the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2004-05.

Jaya has her roots in Kollegal, a town in the present-day Chamarajanagar district of India's Karnataka State.

She made her film debut as a child actress in Bhakta Prahlada (1958).

[2] Jaya has won awards for the films Prathigne, Bettada Huli, Nyayave Devaru and Gowdru, the last of which was from the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Jaya died on 3 June 2021, in Bangalore from age related ailments.