Her lead actress debut was in the 1972 film Yaara Saakshi, which was directed by veteran director M. She then entered the Kannada film industry in a small role through the film Mane Katti Nodu in 1966. Manjula started her acting career in 1965 with a drama troupe Prabhat Kalavidaru. The couple had a son, Abhishek, who married Sushma Srinivas, in 2009 and an adopted daughter, Abhinaya. She was married to film director Amritham who worked with her in films such as: Hudugaatada Hudugi, Kanasu Nanasu etc. She belonged to a prominent lingayat family, her father Shivanna was a police sub inspector. Shivanna and Deveramma on 5th April 1951 in Honnenahalli, a village in Tumkur District.
