The 2013 box office hit Raanjhanaa marked a turning point in Kapoor's career, garnering her praise and Best Actress nominations at several award ceremonies.

[22] Kapoor enrolled at the United World College of South East Asia in Singapore for her pre-university education, where she studied theatre and arts.

[20][26][27] Kapoor studied acting with Roshan Taneja, Jayati Bhatia and Feroz Abbas Khan,[12] and has cited actresses Waheeda Rehman and Nutan as influences, admiring their "path-breaking films ... [and] quality of doing different things".

[3][35] In 2009, Kapoor played an aspiring singer opposite Waheeda Rehman and Abhishek Bachchan in the Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra-directed social drama Delhi-6.

"[40] Although Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express called Kapoor's performance "stiff and rehearsed", Daily News and Analysis' Johnson Thomas found her "likeable and believable".

[43][44][45] Kapoor next played the eponymous role in Aisha, an ensemble romantic comedy-drama based on Jane Austen's novel Emma, which was produced by her sister Rhea.

[46][47] Aisha also starred Abhay Deol, Ira Dubey, Cyrus Sahukar, Amrita Puri, Anand Tiwari, Arunoday Singh and Lisa Haydon.

An Indo-Asian News Service reviewer thought that Kapoor had stood out in the ensemble with her performance, making "the best of a rather rare opportunity for an Indian leading lady to be part of a Bollywood film that salutes Victorian mores and Delhi's elitist affectations in one clean cool sweep".

[51] Despite doubts about her acting ability, critic Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV thought Kapoor conveyed "the essential vulnerability of a girl forever under duress, bringing out just the right mix of feminine fragility and native resolve".

[52] The following year, Kapoor played a computer hacker opposite Abhishek Bachchan, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Bipasha Basu in the Abbas–Mustan-directed heist film, Players, a remake of 2003's The Italian Job.

[53] Although journalists had high expectations, it failed commercially,[54][55] and Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com remarked derogatively that Kapoor "truly entertains with her childish attempt to pass off as a gold-medalist hacker".

[57][58] Kapoor's role in the Anand L. Rai-directed romantic drama Raanjhanaa (2013) marked a turning point in her career;[59] Geety Sahgal called it her best performance to date in The Indian Express.

"[63] Although Raanjhanaa received mixed-to-positive reviews, her performance was praised;[64] Rajeev Masand wrote that she "does some of her best work here, going smoothly from innocent to manipulative to cynical, without ever losing Zoya's inherent vulnerability".

Though she received a Filmfare Best Actress nomination for her performance,[76] critics were divided in their response, with Shilpa Jamkhandikar of Reuters calling her "loud and exasperating",[77] and Andy Webster of The New York Times comparing her to a young Anne Hathaway and highlighting her "Julia Roberts-like smile".

[79][80] In 2015, Kapoor starred as a runaway bride in Dolly Ki Doli, a heist comedy co-starring Pulkit Samrat, Rajkummar Rao and Varun Sharma.

[81] Mint's Udita Jhunjhunwala criticised Kapoor's performance in the film, writing that her "range is too limited to bring alive a character that may have had heaps of potential on paper".

[84] While filming Sooraj R. Barjatya's Prem Ratan Dhan Payo with Salman Khan in Gondal, Gujarat in February 2015, Kapoor was diagnosed with swine influenza, from which she recovered the following month.

[91] Following an appearance in the music video of Coldplay's "Hymn for the Weekend" (featuring Beyoncé),[92] Kapoor starred in Ram Madhvani's biographical thriller Neerja (2016).

[104][105] After a two-year absence from the screen, Kapoor played a social worker in R. Balki's comedy-drama Pad Man (2018), based on a short story in Twinkle Khanna's book The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad.

Co-starring Akshay Kumar and Radhika Apte, the film is inspired by the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, who campaigned for menstrual hygiene in rural India.

[107] Although finding her role to be "largely superfluous", Saibal Chatterjee wrote that Kapoor "makes the most of the limited opportunity";[108] Anna M. M. Vetticad of Firstpost commended her screen presence but disliked a romantic subplot involving her and Kumar, criticising the chemistry and age-gap between them.

[110] The following month, she featured in Shashanka Ghosh's Veere Di Wedding, a female buddy film co-starring Kareena Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania.

[115] Anna M. M. Vetticad criticised the film's attempt to whitewash Dutt's misdeeds, but found Kapoor's portrayal of her small role "sweet".

[116] On the other hand, Rajeev Masand called the film "consistently engaging", and wrote that Kapoor "hit the right notes as Sanjay Dutt's [partner]".

[118] In 2019, Kapoor starred in the coming-of-age film Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (as Sonam K Ahuja), co-starring her father, Juhi Chawla, and Rajkummar Rao.

[121][122] Kapoor next starred in Abhishek Sharma's film adaptation of Anuja Chauhan's romantic comedy novel The Zoya Factor, in which she played the titular character of a clumsy woman who becomes a lucky charm for the Indian cricket team.

[157][158] As well as endorsing brands such as Colgate, Electrolux, Lux, Mont Blanc, Oppo Mobile, Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. and Signature, Kapoor is the Indian ambassador for international cosmetics manufacturer L'Oréal.

[130] In 2020, Kapoor was among several Bollywood actors who were called out for posting Instagram messages showing solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, despite their previous work advertising skin-lightening products which perpetuate colorism.

[166] On behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) she wrote to Maharashtra Home Minister R. R. Patil, protesting against the use of glass-coated manja (used on fighter kites), which kills birds who become entangled in it.

[175] Kapoor walked the ramp in a 2015 fashion show by Manish Malhotra for the Mijwan Welfare Society, a non-profit organisation dedicated to empowering girls.