[4] Born as Nirmala, she ventured into acting as a child artist with films like Macha Rekai (1950) and Panduranga Mahatyam (1957).

She debuted as a lead actress in the 1964 Malayalam film Bhargavi Nilayam which became one of the biggest hits of that year.

[5] She was born as Nidudavolu Nirmala on 20 February 1946 into a Telugu Brahmin family settled in Tamil Nadu who were originally from Narasaraopet.

[7] Actress Jayasudha is Venkatrao's granddaughter while singer R. Balasaraswathi Devi is her paternal aunt's daughter.

[8] Vijaya Nirmala entered cinema as a child artist with the Tamil movie Macha Rekai (1950).

In 1964, she starred opposite Prem Nazir and rose to stardom with the Malayalam film Bhargavi Nilayam.

[10] Her first film in Tamil was Enga Veettu Penn (1965),[2] which was followed by Panama Pasama (1968), Uyira Maanama (1968), En Annan (1970), and Gnana Oli (1972).