She was the founder and director of the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, an institute for imparting training in dance, drama, music and puppetry, in the city of Ahmedabad.

Mrinalini was born to a Tamil Brahmin father and Malayali Nair mother[3] in present-day Kerala on 11 May 1918.

[6] Her elder sister Lakshmi Sahgal was the commander-in-chief of Subhas Chandra Bose's 'Rani of Jhansi Regiment' of the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj).

According to biographer Amrita Shah, Vikram Sarabhai had a void in his personal life he sought to fill by dedicating himself to applying science for social good.

[15] She was honoured with the Degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa (LittD) by the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK in 1997.

She was also the first Indian to receive the medal and Diploma of the French association Archives Internationales de la Danse.

[16] She was nominated to the executive committee of the International Dance Council, Paris in 1990[2] and awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, New Delhi in 1994.

[22] Regina Cassandra portrayed her in Sony LIV's series Rocket Boys based on the life of Vikram Sarabhai and Homi J.