Born as Anupama Chandra in Calcutta, India to Chandra Parshad family, She has also lived in Badayun, a city in Uttar Pradesh. Her father Navin Chandra was the eldest of the brothers and sisters. Anupama’s grandfather, originally from Delhi, was an executive with Union Carbide, Kolkata and her mother Kamna Chandra was a scriptwriter; she wrote dialogues for such films as Prem Rog (1982) and Chandni (1989). Chopra grew up with her brother and sister in Mumbai, where her family lived in Nepean Sea Road and then in Cuffe Parade. Her sister Tanuja Chandra is an Indian Film director and screenwriter; and her brother Vikram Chandra is a novelist, who splits his time between California and India. She also lived in Hong Kong for several years as a teenager. In 1987, she graduated from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai with a BA in English Literature.

Chopra’s 2011 book First Day First Show: Writings from the Bollywood Trenches, is a compilation of her articles on Hindi cinema over two decades, published by Penguin India.

Chopra hosted film review show, Picture This on NDTV 24X7 news channel. In 2012, she started her weekly review show called The Front Row with Anupama Chopra, on Star World, which ran till June 2014. In 2013, she released two books, Freeze Frame based on the interviews with film makers and actors on the TV show, and 100 Films to See before You Die based on her weekly film columns. In 2014, she also did a Hindi show called ‘Star Verdict’ on Star Plus. Currently she hosts Film Companion on YouTube which replaced “The Front Row With Anupama Chopra” where she critiques Hindi Film movies. She has written several books on cinema. Anupama’s latest book, The Front Row: Conversations on Cinema published by Harper Collins is a collection of her televised interviews with both Indian Film and Hollywood personalities. She is also actively involved in works related to film festivals happening in India.

In November 2014, Chopra replaced Shyam Benegal to become the chairperson of the Mumbai Film Festival organized by the Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image (MAMI).