Rambha was born as Vijayalakshmi on 5 June 1976. There is some discrepancy regarding her birthplace: IMDb lists Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, while The Indian Express lists Peddapuram. For your database, it is safer to record the birth date as 5 June 1976 and use Andhra Pradesh, India for the birthplace unless you specifically need a city.
Rambha began her acting career at a young age. She made her Malayalam-film debut with Sargam (1992), directed by Hariharan. She reportedly did not know Malayalam when she entered the film, but her performance as Thankamani received appreciation. The film won major awards, while Rambha received recognition for her performance.
She subsequently entered Telugu cinema, where she adopted the screen name Rambha, which became her best-known professional name. She quickly became a popular heroine and appeared opposite many leading South Indian actors, including Chiranjeevi, Rajinikanth, Mammootty, Vijay, Ajith Kumar, Venkatesh, Balakrishna and others.
During the 1990s, Rambha built a successful career across several regional film industries. Her notable Telugu films included Bhairava Dweepam (1994), Bombay Priyudu (1996), Hitler (1997), Muddula Priyudu and Allari Premikudu. Her Tamil film work included Ninaithen Vandhai, Kaathala Kaathala, Endrendrum Kadhal and Raasi.
Rambha also became familiar to Hindi-film audiences. She appeared in films including Bandhan (1998) alongside Salman Khan and Judwaa (1997), among other Hindi projects. Her work in Bollywood complemented her much larger career in South Indian cinema.
In 2003, Rambha also became a producer with the Tamil film Three Roses, in which she acted alongside Jyothika and Laila.
Rambha married Canadian businessman Indrakumar Pathmanathan in 2010 and subsequently moved to Toronto. The couple has three children. She later took a break from regular film acting and became involved in television, including work as a reality-show judge and television personality.
Her last credited film appearance is generally listed as The Filmstaar (2011), after which she largely stepped away from cinema. She has nevertheless continued to make television appearances and remain connected with the entertainment industry.