Catherine Tresa (born Catherine Tresa Alexandar 10 September 1990 ) is an Indian film actress and model, who appears in Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil films. Catherine was born to Malayali Roman catholic parents Frank Mario Alexander and Tresa Alexander in Kottayam, Kerala. The family later settled down in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where Catherine grew up. She said, "I don’t speak fluent Malayalam, it’s mostly English that we speak at home. I speak decent Hindi though and now I’m taking lessons in Telugu". She did her Grade Twelve in Dubai and moved to Bangalore for higher education. She studied for two years in St. Joseph's College, Bangalore.
While studying, she pursued extra-curricular activities. She learnt to play piano, and got trained in singing, dancing, ice skating and debating, stating that she believes that she is "good at anything I put my mind to". In Dubai, Catherine was an Emirates Environment volunteer. At the age of 14, Catherine did some amateur modelling for fashion design graduate students. After coming to India, she modeled for Nalli Silks, Chennai Silks, Fast Track, Josco Jewellers and Deccan Chronicle. She has also shot for Srikantadatta Wodeyar's Maharaja Calendar and had participated with Prasad Bidapa in many ramp shows in many cities.