Tandon established herself by playing the leading lady in the commercially successful action films Dilwale (1994), Mohra (1994), Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996), and Ziddi (1997).

[10] Tandon received her education at Jamnabai Narsee School in Juhu and attended Mithibai College in Mumbai.

[15] In 1995, Tandon starred with Shah Rukh Khan for the first time in Zamaana Deewana; the film failed to do well.

[21] In the 2000s, Tandon ventured into art house productions, to learn a realistic way of acting, and rejected several mainstream film offers.

[22] Her years in the industry paid off when she won the coveted National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in Kalpana Lajmi's Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence (2001), where she played a battered wife to an abusive husband.

Critic Taran Adarsh said: "Raveena Tandon lends credibility to the role of a battered wife and walks away with the honours.

[26] Her role as a schizophrenic in Dobara was also praised with one critic saying: "Raveena is in sync with her character, playing her part with elaan".

[27] Tandon also worked in the Sahara One television series Sahib Biwi Gulam, based on the 1953 Bengali novel Saheb Bibi Golam by Bimal Mitra.

[30] In 2015, she made a comeback to Bollywood in longtime friend Anurag Kashyap's magnum opus Bombay Velvet.

[32] In 2021, Tandon made her OTT debut with the Netflix crime thriller web series Aranyak, and received positive reviews for her performance.

[37] She has posed in many advertisement campaigns joining the likes of John Abraham, Shilpa Shetty and Amisha Patel.

[38] In 2023, Tandon became the first person from the entertainment industry, chosen to be a delegate at W20, the Women's empowerment engagement wing at G20 New Delhi summit.

[44] She married Thadani on 22 February 2004 in Jag Mandir Palace, Udaipur, Rajasthan according to Punjabi Khatri and Sindhi traditions.

Praising her dance, Filmfare noted, "A natural dancer who radiated oomph by the bucket, Raveena literally set the silver screen on fire with her moves.

"[50][54] Tandon termed her performance in Shool and Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence, as the ones that changed the perception of the audience.

"[55]In 2023, the Government of India honoured Tandon with the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award, for her contribution to Indian cinema.

[56] Tandon appeared on Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list of 2019, ranking 89th, with an estimated annual income of ₹24 million (US$280,000).