Udaya Chandrika began her career with Katari Veera, released in 1966.

Later, she went on to play many roles in Kannada films till her last appearance in Udugore, released in 1979, with Kalyan Kumar.

She acted with almost all the stars of her time, like Dr. Rajkumar, Kalyan Kumar, Udaykumar, Rajesh, Vishnuvardhan, Srinath, Rajinikanth, etc.

She even worked with Sivaji Ganesan, MGR, Prem Nazir, Krishna[clarification needed] in her other language films.

Her famous films are Thillana Mohanambal, Katari Veera, Dhoomakethu, Bhoopathi Ranga, Anchusundarikal, Pattukunte Laksha, etc.