[8][9] Her father, Mitra Basu Chhillar, is a physician who served at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and now practices regenerative medicine at Soma Wellness in Mumbai[10][11],while her mother, Neelam Chhillar, is also a medical doctor and departmental head of neurochemistry at the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences, New Delhi.

[12][13] Chhillar studied at St. Thomas' School (New Delhi) and was academically brilliant, having topped the all India CBSE in English subject in class 12, and scored 96 per cent in her boards.

[19] Chhillar ventured into pageantry with Fashion Big Bazaar sponsored Campus Princess 2016, where she was crowned as one of the finalists from All India Institute of Medical Sciences in December 2016.

[24][25] She later went on to win the contest's main title Femina Miss India World 2017, in the finale event hosted at the Yash Raj Film Studio, on 25 June 2017.

[44] She made an appearance in SET India's television special, Super Nights With Padman to promote her Beauty with a Purpose project on menstrual hygiene, in association with Akshay Kumar's starring film, Pad Man.

[45] After her homecoming ceremony, Chhillar's first visit was to London along with Julia Morley, the chairman and CEO of Miss World.

They joined the royal honouring ceremony of Marsha Rae Ratcliff OBE, the Past Master of The Worshipful Company of Carmen.

[50] In February 2018, she started the first leg of her Beauty With A Purpose tour with Miss World 2017 continental winners - Magline Jeruto (Africa), Ha Eun Kim (Asia), Annie Evans (Oceania), Stephanie Hill (Europe), Solange Sinclair (Caribbean), Andrea Meza (Americas) and Miss World 2016, Stephanie Del Valle at the 1st global edition of 'Feminine Hygiene Awareness' campaign in Hyderabad in collaboration with Government of Telangana.

[52] They visited "New Light" NGO in slum area of Kolkata and also learnt to make low cost biodegradable sanitary pads at the Jute Industries Research Association.

[54] They joined hands with Aakar Innovations, an NGO that works on the same issue, to create more low cost, biodegradable sanitary napkins.

[56] Manushi, along with the Miss World team, also met Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu, the Vice-President of India, and Sushma Swaraj, Minister of External Affairs, to discuss her beauty with a purpose project.

[62] She subsequently visited the United States, where she was a presenter and performer for a 16-hour TV show on channel ABC, the 44th Variety Children's Charity Telethon held in Iowa.

[71] She gave a presentation on behalf of the organisation to the Governor of the Federal District of Brasília, Rodrigo Rollemberg, at the Charity Gala arranged by APAE.

[71][73][74] She was invited by Foreign Affairs Chairman, Congressman Nielson Pinto and the National Defense Committee, and was honoured by the Parliament of Brazil for her humanitarian works.

[82] As a result of Chhillar's Beauty With A Purpose Project on feminine hygiene, machines that manufacture low cost and compostable sanitary pads were installed in Nelson Mandela's birthplace Mvezo.

[83] The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, led the official ceremony of unveiling the first Sanitary Pads Unit, on 18 July 2018, which marked the 100th birth anniversary of Nelson Mandela.

Chhillar, along with Miss World 2014, Rolene Strauss, inaugurated the first sanitary pad manufacturing unit set up by them in South Africa.

[84] Apart from the launch of the sanitary pad unit, Mandela's birthday was celebrated by handing out more than 200 blankets and winter hats to the elderly at the newly opened 'Nosekeni Nongaphi Health Center'.

[98] She inaugurated the 'Haryana Film Policy' in the Indian city of Gurgaon, along with the Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar.

[99][100] Chhillar crowned her successor Vanessa Ponce of Mexico at the end of Miss World 2018, which took place in Sanya, China on 8 December 2018.

[101][102] Chhillar signed a three-film deal contract with Yash Raj Films, and made her debut with Samrat Prithviraj.

[105] Elaborating her role, Chhillar stated, "It's a huge responsibility to play princess Sanyogita, a powerful personality who stood up for what is right and took the most important decisions of her life herself".

[107] In 2023, Chhillar appeared in The Great Indian Family, a comedy film backed by the same banner, where she was seen opposite Vicky Kaushal.

[112] Sana Farzeen of India Today noted, "Manushi's sincere performance gets lost in translation due to lacklustre screenplay."

[116] In May 2018, Chhillar joined hundreds of women in a 3 km walk through the streets of Delhi to create social awareness on the World Menstrual Hygiene Day.

[121][122] Chhillar was appointed as the ambassador for Government of Haryana's campaign to curb Anemia, which was instituted since almost 61 per cent of the women in the state were effected from the disease.

[123] She expanded the scope of her Beauty with a Purpose campaign, Project Shakti and initiated awareness programme among rural women for HIV/AIDS in India.

[127][128] Chhillar also urged state governments in India to distribute sanitary pads, along with daily ration to the female migrant workers who were prone to severe risks due to shortage of funds in their hands during the migrant labourers' crisis in India, which arose as a result of the strict lockdown imposed to contain the spread of SARS CoV-2.

[132][133][134] In March 2021, Chhillar along with Dipika Pallikal and Nikhat Zareen, became part of a campaign launched by Adidas called Make A Move, with the vision to encourage and motivate women to overcome psychological and social barriers.

[11] In 2024, she introduced Dweep, a sustainable and inclusive brand[164] specialising in women's swimwear and resort wear, in collaboration with stylist Sheefa J Gilani.