Catherine Tresa Alexander (born 10 September 1989) is an Indian actress and model. She has established her career in Telugu and Tamil films. She made her film debut in 2010 in the film Shankar IPS.
Early life
Catherine Tresa was born to Malayali parents, Frank Mario Alexander and Tresa Alexander in Dubai. She was raised Christian.[3] She finished her high school education in Dubai and moved to Bengaluru for higher education.[4] While studying, she learnt to play piano, and got trained in singing, dancing, ice skating and debating,[5] stating that she believes she is "good at anything I put my mind to".[6] In Dubai, Catherine was an Emirates Environment volunteer. At the age of 14, Catherine did amateur modelling for fashion design graduate students.[7] After moving to India, she modeled for Nalli Silks, Chennai Silks, Fast Track, Josco Jewellers and Deccan Chronicle. She has also shot for Srikantadatta Wodeyar's Maharaja Calendar and collaborated with Prasad Bidapa in numerous ramp shows across India.[7]
It was followed by the Kannada film Godfather opposite Upendra, which was directed by cinematographer turned film-maker Sethu Sriram. Catherine's character in the film was that of an older mentally challenged woman.[11] Her performance earned her her first nomination for an award in the Best Supporting Actress category at the 60th Filmfare Awards South.
She next signed up for Chammak Challo directed by Neelakanta, in which she played "an urbane, bold and dynamic girl".[12] It released in February 2013 and failed at the box office,[6] but she got noticed and received positive reviews. APHerald.com called her "a treat to watch"[13] and 123telugu.com noted that "she has the potential to be a superstar in future if she plays her cards right".[14]
Catherine played one of the female leads in Puri Jagannadh's Telugu film Iddarammayilatho.[15] The film released in June 2013 and won her rave reviews. Times of India reported "Catherine Tresa perfectly suits the character of Akanksha".[16] Shirirag.com called her "cigarette smoking hot"[17] while Idlebrain Jeevi in his review noted "with a bit of fine-tuning she can become big in Telugu films".[18]
Catherine next appeared in Paisa by Krishna Vamsi playing a Muslim girl in the film, "who is sweet, very inhibited and talks a lot with her eyes" and called it "a total contrast to what I play[ed] in Chammak Challo".[19] In 2014, she made her foray into the Tamil film industry with Madras in which she starred opposite Karthi.[20] The second Tamil film is the S Thanu production, Kanithan directed by débutante Santosh in which she will be starring opposite Atharvaa.[21] She then appeared in two Telugu films: Gunasekhar's Rudhramadevi,[22] the first Indian 3D historic film,[23] and Erra Bus, directed and produced by Dasari Narayana Rao.[24]
