Manisha Koirala was born into the politically prominent Hindu Koirala family; Her grandfather Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala was the Prime Minister of Nepal during the late 50s-early 60s, as well as two of her great grand uncles, Girija Prasad Koirala and MP Koirala. She studied at Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan, New Delhi and Vasant Kanya Mahavidhyalaya (VKM) Varanasi. She lived with her grandmother in Varanasi during her studies. Her ambition was to be a doctor, but a modelling stint opened a career path into Bollywood.
Her brother Siddharth Koirala is also an actor, and collaborated with her once in the film Anwar.
In 2004, she returned from New York after receiving a diploma in filmmaking. She became a member of an independent documentary filmmaker's society.
Her first film was Pheri Bhetaula (We shall meet again), a Nepali movie released in early 1989. Her first Hindi movie was Subhash Ghai's Saudagar in 1991. The film proved to be a good beginning, as it was the biggest hit of the year.
She starred in a number of unsuccessful films during 1992-1993 until Vidhu Vinod Chopra's love saga 1942: A Love Story (1994) and Mani Ratnam's Tamil drama Bombay (1995) came out.Her performance in the latter was particularly appreciated and won her the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance. She was also seen in more commercial films, such as Mansoor Khan's romantic musical Akele Hum Akele Tum (1995) opposite Aamir Khan. Her role of Kiran, an ignored wife who leaves her husband and child in order to fulfill her singing talent and subsequently becomes a popular star, earned her a Filmfare nomination for Best Actress.
In September 1999, Koirala was appointed as a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador. She is actively involved in social work, specifically working with organizations to promote women’s rights, prevention of violence against women, and also to prevent the human trafficking of Nepali girls for prostitution.
