Born and raised in Orissa, India, Mira Nair was influenced more by theater than film, specifically Shakespearean and Jatra traveling theater troupes, during her youth. Years later, while at Delhi University, she began her acting career performing with the Theatre Action Group. She continued to act while at Harvard University until she took a course at MIT with Richard Leacock, a pioneer of cinéma vérité, leading her to switch her major to film. She graduated with her first documentary Jama Masjid Street Journal (1979) as her thesis film, and then worked as an assistant editor in New York City until she received funding for her second documentary, So Far from India (1983). After completing her third documentary, India Cabaret (1984), Nair decided to venture into features in order to have creative control over production and story, resulting in the critically acclaimed Salaam Bombay! (1988).
Since Salaam Bombay!, Nair has directed Mississippi Masala (1991), The Perez Family (1995), Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996), Monsoon Wedding (2001), Hysterical Blindness (2002), Vanity Fair (2004), The Namesake (2006), Amelia (2009), The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012) and Queen of Katwe (2016). She has also worked on short films such as The Day the Mercedes Became a Hat (1993) and The Laughing Club of India (2001), and on shorts for anthology projects including September 11 (2002), New York, I Love You (2008), and 8 (2008).
For her directorial efforts, Nair has been nominated for an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe, as well as multiple BAFTA Awards, Cesar Awards, and Venice Film Festival Awards. She won the Venice Golden Lion for Monsoon Wedding and Mississippi Masala. She has been a member of the Guild since 2001.