Born in Mumbai, she is the daughter of a film producer, Chander Sadanah, and Seema Sadanah. She has two sisters, Nandita (Nagma), who is also an actress, Radhika (Roshni), and a younger brother Rahul. After doing her schooling in Chennai, she returned to Mumbai to get a Psychology Degree from Mithibai College of Arts, Bombay. Jyothika is one of the very few Indian actress who had a clean image among the general public. She had dated Surya for over 4 years and married him on 11 September 2006.