Vidya Balan is a Tamilian from Kerala. She is from the Iyer community. She comes from a middleclass family from Palghat, on the border of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.Vidya did her schooling from St Antony's School and later on joined St Xavier's College from where she graduated in sociology.
When she was doing her MA from Mumbai University, she was offered a role in a Malayalam film titled Chakram with Mohanlal, one of Vidya’s favorite actors.She made her debut as a model in a Surf Excel advertisement in 1998. She has acted in scores of ad films, most of which were directed by Pradeep Sarkar.
Facing disappointment after being rejected by a Tamil producer, she nevertheless persisted until she got her first break with a Malyalam movie 'Chakram' opposite Mohanlal, however, the project was shelved, and she had to wait until 1998 to debut in a Surf Excel commercial.
She then went on to appear in several commercials directed by Pradeep Sarkar. She completed nearly 90 such ads. She appeared in three music videos for Pankaj Udhas, Euphoria, and Shubha Mudgal in supporting roles.She then also appeared in two TV serials Ekta Kapoor's 'Hum Paanch', and Ashok Pandit's 'Hanste Khelte'.
