Parmar was born in Nairobi, Kenya, to Indian parents and when she was 12 her family moved to the United Kingdom.
Parmar's feminism was influenced by writers such as Angela Davis, June Jordan, Cherrie Moraga, Barbara Smith and Alice Walker.
[3] With her 1991 film Khush, Parmar examined the erotic world of South Asian lesbians and gay men in the United Kingdom and India, using a mix of documentary footage and dramatic scenes.
Walker and Parmar also collaborated on Warrior Marks, a documentary about female genital mutilation.
[8] Parmar has also made music videos for Morcheeba, Tori Amos and Midge Ure.