When she was doing her schooling, she learnt dance from Murugappan Master, who was the guide to actress K. R. Vijaya at that time.
A 19-year old Sumithra started her career in a small role in the Malayalam film Nrithasala (1972); director A.
In Kannada, her first movie was Mugiyada Kathe (1975) which is known for the evergreen song Kangalu Vandane Helide.
She has acted with several leading heroes such as Vishnuvardhan and Rajesh in Kannada and Sivaji Ganesan, Jaishankar, Sivakumar, Rajnikanth and Kamal Haasan in Tamil.
She's performed supporting roles in hundreds of Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu movies till date.