Ayilya Gopalakrishnan

Ananya was born as Ayilya to Malayali parents Gopalakrishnan Nair, a noted film producer, and Praseetha in Perumbavoor, Kerala. She has a younger brother, Arjun. Her name was taken from her birth star (nakshatra) Aslesha, which is called Ayilyam in Malayalam.

She appeared as a child artist in one of her father's productions (executive producer), Pai Brothers (1995). Ananya pursued a B.A. degree in Communicative English at St. Xavier's College for Women, Aluva. During her childhood, she was an archer and won the State Championship. While representing her college in a television reality show, Star Wars, she was spotted by various directors and received acting offers. After declining five projects, she decided to give it a try, accepting to act in Positive. Her screen name was changed to Ananya when she was working in her debut Tamil film Naadodigal. The film was a high commercial success, and Ananya rose to fame with her performance in the film being appreciated. She went on to reprise the same role in its Malayalam remake Ithu Nammude Katha. The film Shikkar alongside Mohanlal, gave her a big break in Malayalam. She did some thrilling scenes in the climax of the movie that impressed Mohanlal, which made him call her the "Vijayashanti" of Malayalam. She also played a supporting role in Kandahar, which saw her sharing screen space with Mohanlal and Amitabh Bachchan. In 2011, Ananya played one of the female lead roles in Engaeyum Eppothum, which received rave reviews and became a sleeper hit.

In 2014, she appeared in Pulivaal, her first Tamil release after three years.

As of 2018, she has Sigappu Rojakkal 2 in Tamil, Intintaa Annamayya in Telugu, and Ameya in Malayalam delayed for release.