Yamuna Rani (real name Aruna) is an Indian actress born in 1977 in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, where her father Venugopalan Nair worked as a PWD Engineer, and her mother Shathamma was a homemaker. Originally from Pattathanam, Kollam, she attended Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalaya in Arunachal Pradesh and Vimala Hridaya H.S.S for Girls in Vadakkevila, Kollam. She completed her BA in Hindi from Sree Narayana College, Kollam. She adopted the name 'Yamuna' upon entering the television industry. She began her acting career at 19 in a Malayalam album song for Onam that aired on Doordarshan Malayalam, where she was noticed by dramatist Kavalam Narayana Panicker, who cast her in his short film Punarjani. She made her film debut with Stalin Sivadas (1999) and rose to fame through her role as Lisy in the DD Malayalam serial Jwalayayi (2000-02). Over the following decades, she appeared in over 50 serials in the Malayalam television industry, most notably as Madhumathy - the iconic antagonistic mother-in-law - in the beloved Asianet serial Chandanamazha. She has also appeared in films including Ustad, Valyettan, Pattanathil Sundaran, and Meesamadhavan. In March 2024, she entered Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 6 as one of the original contestants. She was eliminated in Week 4 (Day 26), finishing twenty-first. She was first married to director SP Mahesh (legally separated 2019) and subsequently married US-based psychotherapist Devan Ayyankeril in 2020. She has two daughters from her first marriage.
Her memorable role as Madhumathy, the formidable mother-in-law in the popular Asianet serial Chandanamazha; her breakthrough role as Lisy in Jwalayayi (2000-2002) on DD Malayalam; appearing in over 50 Malayalam serials over three decades; her supporting roles in Malayalam films including Ustad, Valyettan, and Meesamadhavan.
