[1][2][3] Her father, Major Bhupinder Singh, SC, was an Indian Army officer, and she has a younger sister, Rubina, who is a psychologist based in Bangalore.

[6] Kaur was launched on screen in a two-part music video for the songs "Tera Mera Pyar" by Kumar Sanu and "Yeh Kya Hua" by Shreya Ghoshal in 2004.

"[13] Jay Weissberg of Variety called her a "radiant presence",[14] while Pratim D. Gupta of The Telegraph wrote that "Nimrat strips off all the sentimentality to attach dignity and grace to the character.

"[15] In 2014, Kaur appeared as ISI agent Tasneem Qureishi in the fourth season of the American TV series Homeland.

Just a wee bit awkward in the early scenes, she comes into her own by the time she must deliver a scathing monologue during a crisis of faith over her husband's actions.

[17][20] In 2017, Kaur starred as Captain Shikha Sharma in the Hindi web series The Test Case and received positive response.

[17][23][24] A Harini Prasad of The New Indian Express commented on her "commendable acting chops" and the "positive response" she has received for her work in the final season.

[25] After a four year hiatus, Kaur co-starred in the 2022 Netflix film Dasvi, playing Haryana's CM alongside Abhishek Bachchan.

[30] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV praised her and said, "It is Nimrat Kaur who saves the day with a solid, admirably consistent performance as the investigator who has much more on her plate than just a case of a missing girl.