Malashri was born and brought up in Madras (now Chennai) into a Telugu speaking family. She shot to fame with Nanjundi Kalyana in 1989 but her personal life hit an all-time low the same year when her mother died in a road accident. She had an affair with actor Sunil, her co-star in many films. But in 1994 she met with a car accident when her car got hit by a truck. While Malashree suffered multiple injuries, Sunil died within an hour. It was rumoured that they even had plans of getting married. She is currently married to film producer Ramu and they have a daughter together, Ananya (b. 2001). Her sister Subhashri was also an actress, who appeared in South Indian films.

1996