Lakshmi Rai is a Mangalorean but was born in Belgaum, Karnataka on 5th May 1981 to Ram Rai and Manjula. She is from the Bunt community of coastal Karnataka and has two older sisters, Reshma and Ashwini. Lakshmi's nickname is Krishna, her mother tongue is Kannada.
Before entering the film industry she modelled for brands like Bru coffee, Fair and Lovely, and Saravana’s stores.