Santha Devi was born in Kozhikode in a then well known tharavadu called Thottathil in 1927 as the daughter of Thottathil Kannakkuruppu and Karthiyayani Amma as the seventh daughter of their 10 children. She did her studies from Sabha school and then B.E.M school.

She made her debut as an actress through a 1954 drama Smarakam written by Vasu Pradeep and directed by Kundanari Appu Nair. She made her cinema debut in Minnaminungu (1957) directed by Ramu Karyat. She has acted in over 480 movies including Moodupadam, Kuttikkuppayam, Kunjalimaraykkar, Iruttinte Athmavu, Sthalathe pradhana payyans and Adwaitham. Kerala Cafe, produced by director Ranjith, was her last movie where she enacted the role of a forlorn grandmother with no one to look after her. Besides movies, she was also active in television serials. Her most memorable roles are from Manasi and Minnukettu.

Santha Devi died on 20 November 2010 evening in a private hospital in Kozhikode.

She had 9 other siblings, 5 brothers and 4 sisters. All of her brothers were in Air Force and Military services.She got married at the age of 18 with her uncle's son Balakrishnan who was a Railway guard, but the relationship did not last long. He left Santha Devi after the couple had a son. Later, she got married to Kozhikode Abdul Kader, a popular Malayalam playback singer. She has two sons, Suresh Babu and the late Sathyajith.^[5]

She won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Yamanam (1992) directed by Bharath Gopi.^[6] She has received the Kerala State award for best Stage actress in 1968 for her role in Kudukkukal. In 1968, she received award from Thrissur Fine Arts Society and in 1973 she received best actress award again. In 1978, her acting in Ithu bhoomiyanu and Inquilabinte makkal fetched her Kerala Sangeetha Nadaka Acamedy's award for best actress. She won the Kerala Film Critics Association Award in 1979 and Kerala State Award for Best Actress in State plays in 1983 for Deepasthambham Mahashcharyam.^[2]

In 1992 she got Film critics award again. Santha Devi was awarded Premji award and later in 2005 the lifetime achievement award from Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi.

• Manasi (DD Malayalam)
• Minnukettu (Surya TV)

• Kudukkukal
• Smaarakam
• Deepasthambham Mahaascharyam
• Inquilaaabinte Makkal
• Ithu Bhoomiyaannu