The 38-year-old "Kahaani" actress, who hails from Kerala", took to Twitter to share her joy on receiving the prestigious honour.
"Proud to have received the Pride of Kerala award from the World Malayalee Council and Kairali TV," Balan posted on alongside a photo from the felicitation ceremony.
The National award-winning actress has starred in films like "Parineeta", "Paa", "No One Killed Jessica", "The Dirty Picture" and "Kahaani".
Balan will be next seen in Sujoy Ghosh-produced "TE3N", which also stars Amitabh Bachchan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.