[3] Menaka, whose real name is Padmavathy, was born into a Tamil Iyengar Brahmin family in Nagercoil, Kanyakumari district, India.

Her mother Saroja taught at the Lourdes Girls' Higher Secondary School in Perambur, Madras.

[5][6] Menaka had become one of the highest-paid actresses in South Indian cinema when she decided to retire from acting post-marriage.

[5] After 24 years, she made a comeback as a film actress in 2011 with Fazil-directed Living Together, in a character role.

[7] Menaka married film producer G. Suresh Kumar at Guruvayur Temple on 27 October 1987.