[2][3] Her popular Kannada films include Premada Kanike, Shankar Guru, Antha and Chandi Chamundi among several others.

Her pairing with Ambareesh, started with the cult classic Antha where she played the tragic role of a cabaret dancer who is his sister and then went on to become his heroine in several movies like Ajith, Prema Matsara and Khadeema Kallaru.

Her pairing with Shankar Nag in many movies also proved successful, including the heroine-oriented Chandi Chamundi that made her a household name as an action heroine.

[8] Jayamala created history of sorts when she became the only actress in the Indian film industry to be conferred a doctorate for writing a thesis.

She was at the center of a controversy when she claimed that she touched the Lord Ayyappa idol in Sabarimala during the shooting of Tamil movie titled 'Nambinar Keduvathillai'.

It was Mr V Rajendran[9][10] who is currently the Kerala state committee member of Bharatiya Janata Party who filed the petition against her in Ranni court.