[6][7] Starting her career as an actress in Malayalam feature films in the early 1990s, she ventured into modeling and became noted, after participating and winning at several beauty pageants, which led to her debut in Hindi cinema.

It was the film Ishq (1997) where she received notable attention as the dancer for the song, "Humko Tumse Pyaar Hai", featuring Aamir Khan and Ajay Devgn and also in Bandhan (1998).

Following appearances in over 30 Hindi films, in which she generally conveyed a glamorous image, her acting career took a turn by the mid-2000s, with her returning to Malayalam cinema and accepting substantial roles.

[8] She received critical praise and several accolades including the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress for her performances in Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha (2009) and Salt N' Pepper (2011).

In 2018, she contestant in the Malayalam reality TV series Bigg Boss and was eliminated after 36 episodes aired on Asianet, hosted by the veteran actor Mohanlal.

[9] She started her career as an actress in the Malayalam film Anaswaram (1991), directed by Jomon, playing the female lead opposite Mammootty, after which she focused on modeling.

[citation needed] She competed in the Miss India contest in 1994 and finished third runner-up behind Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya Rai and Fransesca Hart.

Her performance as Sarojini, a middle-class woman who fights against extreme odds, in Madhya Venal earned her a special mention by jury chairman Bahman Ghobadi, a famous Iranian director at the International Film Festival of Kerala.

In 2010, she won the Kerala State Government's Best Actress for her portrayal of Cheeru, a village woman in the film Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha directed by Ranjith.

The show became an instant hit for Shwetha's accented Malayalam and her attempts to read from the original script without a formal learning in the language.

[20][21] In 2011, she had filed a case against Kunnath Pharmaceuticals' managing director K. C. Abraham for misusing stills from her film Kayam (2011) for promoting their Ayurvedic aphrodisiac Musli Power Extra.