She graduated from Vassar College in 1984, with a major in Chinese Language and Literature, originally planning to be a translator before she became an actress.

[3] At the age of 17, Jaffrey made her professional acting debut in the play Marie and Bruce by Wallace Shawn at the Public Theatre in New York City.

[8] In 2014, it was announced that she would be appearing in the second season of Fox's television series Sleepy Hollow as Leena Reyes, the new sheriff.

[10] She also starred as Malini Soni in The Meyerowitz Stories, a 2017 comedy-drama film directed by Noah Baumbach and costarring Dustin Hoffman and Adam Sandler.

[11] Jaffrey lives in suburban New York City with her husband, Francis Wilkinson, a journalist, and their two children, Cassius and Jamila.