Bengaluru, July 26: Veteran Kannada actress Jayanthi, popularly known as 'Abhinaya Sharadhe' passed at 76. She was keeping unwell for the past few days. 

She has been cited as the "Most beautiful and Bold" actress of Kannada Film Industry. 

She has performed in more than 500 films including Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi and Marathi languages. The Kannada film industry has honoured her with the title "Abhinaya Sharadhe" meaning Goddess Sharade in acting , has received two Karnataka State Film awards as Best actress, the President's Medal for Best Actress and two Filmfare Awards for Best Actress throughout her career.

Jayanthi is known for her contributions to southern film industry films from the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. 

Jayanthi has acted in over 500 movies across languages such as Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Marathi, having shared the screen with legendary actors such as MG Ramachandran (MGR) and Dr Rajkumar.

Initially appearing in Telugu dance scenes, she became the heroine through the Kannada movie "Jenugudu".

She was the heroine of more than 40 films in Kannada along with Gandharva Dr. Rajakumar. She has acted as heroine with all the heroes of Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada. Although she has acted in seven Hindi Films, she has not had the chance to work with top actors.

Her original name was Kamala. Kamala Kumari when she became a heroine changed her name as Jayanti and appeared in many different roles.