A part of the Kapoor family, she made her acting debut as a teenager with a leading role in the moderately successful Prem Qaidi (1991).

The 1996 blockbuster romance Raja Hindustani marked a significant turning point in Kapoor's career, earning her praise and a Filmfare Award for Best Actress.

Kapoor achieved further success by featuring as the female lead in three of David Dhawan's top-grossing romantic comedies—Hero No.1 (1997), Biwi No.1 (1999) and Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge (2000), and in Sooraj Barjatya's highly successful family drama Hum Saath-Saath Hain (1999)—and won the Best Actress and Best Actress Critics awards at Filmfare for her titular roles in the dramas Fiza (2000) and Zubeidaa (2001).

Kapoor has played the titular character in the television series Karishma: The Miracles of Destiny (2003–2004) and has featured as a talent judge for several reality shows.

[6] Her paternal and maternal grandparents were from Peshawar, Lyallpur and Karachi respectively, who moved to Bombay for their film careers before the partition of India.

[16] Upon release, the film emerged as a moderate box office success and received mixed reviews from critics, as did Kapoor's performance, with Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama describing it as "mechanical".

Jigar marked Kapoor's first of several collaborations with Ajay Devgn, while Anari featured her in the leading role of Rajnandini, a princess who falls in love with her poor servant (played by Daggubati Venkatesh).

[24] Her first hit that year was David Dhawan's comedy film Raja Babu, opposite Govinda, in which she played Madhubala, an educated arrogant girl who calls off her engagement upon discovering her fiancée's illiteracy.

Kapoor played Raveena Bajaj, the daughter of a London-based business tycoon, who travels to India in search of true love, and falls for Salman Khan's character.

That same year, Kapoor starred in Dharmesh Darshan's romantic drama Raja Hindustani opposite Aamir Khan, in which she played a rich, beautiful heiress who falls for a lowly guide and driver.

"[38] The film's success established Kapoor as a leading actress of Hindi cinema, and marked a significant turning point in her career.

Co-starring Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Akshay Kumar, the film depicts the love lives of the cast and crew in a musical dance troupe.

Initially hesitant to take on the supporting role, Kapoor was cast by Chopra (who was impressed by her work in Raja Hindustani) after several leading actresses of the time had rejected it.

She next re-united with Dhawan and Salman Khan (alongside Sushmita Sen) for the romantic comedy Biwi No.1, in which she portrayed Pooja, a woman whose husband gets involved in an extra-marital affair with a model.

She played Sapna, a girl who falls for Khan's character while on a foreign trip, however, she finds it tough to convince her three uncles of this relationship.

Aparajita Saha of Rediff commented: "Karisma Kapoor and Salman Khan elicit more than their fair share of cat-calls in the movie and make a delectable pair.

[58][59] That same year, Kapoor won her second Filmfare Award for Best Actress for portraying the title role of a disillusioned girl in search of her brother, in Khalid Mohammed's acclaimed crime drama Fiza.

[60] Cast against type in a non-glamorous role, her performance was highly applauded and several critics noted her for showing great emotional range and depth.

Mimmy Jain of The Indian Express, in a positive review, wrote: "As the young girl who is sick of the suspense and disruption that her brother's disappearance has caused in her family's life, as the obstinate daughter who will not listen to her mother's plea to let her keep hoping for her son, as the determined sister who keeps on in her hunt for her brother despite all odds and then seeks to keep him on the right path, this is a new Karisma, and one that delivers a superbly flawless performance.

[70][71] In 2002, Kapoor had three film releases, the first of which was the romantic drama Haan Maine Bhi Pyaar Kiya, opposite Akshay Kumar and Abhishek Bachchan.

[72] She next starred alongside Nana Patekar in the woman-centric drama Shakti: The Power, playing the role of Nandini, a woman who wants to escape from her in-laws (involved in feudal gang wars) along with her son, after her husband's death.

Breathing fire and venom to win back her son from the clutches of a despot, the actress gives it all to the character of a helpless mother and proves what a virtuoso performer she is.

Her final release that year was Indra Kumar's romantic drama Rishtey, alongside Anil Kapoor and Shilpa Shetty.

Later in the same year, she made her television debut in the Sahara One soap opera Karishma – The Miracles Of Destiny, in which she played a dual role of a grandmother and granddaughter.

"[85] In 2024, Kapoor made her comeback to films, with Homi Adajania's mystery-thriller, Murder Mubarak, portraying a sophisticated actress, Shehnaz Noorani.

[86][87] Pratikshya Mishra from The Quint praised her for playing an "elusive star" and noted, "The tragedy evident in her characterisation comes through purely because of how expressive her eyes can be.

[91] On 29 September 2003, she married industrialist Sunjay Kapur, the CEO of Sixt India, in a high-profile Sikh wedding ceremony at her ancestral home, Krishna Raj Bungalow, in Mumbai.

The Heartthrobs: Live in Concert was performed across the United States and Canada alongside Arjun Rampal, Hrithik Roshan, Kareena Kapoor and Aftab Shivdasani.

[106] In addition to acting and philanthropy, Kapoor has been a celebrity endorser for several brands, including Kellogg's, Crescent Lawn, Admix Retail, Danone and Garnier Colour.

[132] Kapoor is widely praised for her performance in Raja Hindustani, Dil To Pagal Hai, Biwi No.1, Fiza, Zubeidaa and Shakti: The Power.