[4] Born in Dehra Dun, which today lies in Uttarakhand, Coelho grew up and was educated in Kolkatta (then Calcutta), where she attended St. Xavier's College.

She later moved to Mumbai (Bombay), and did her diploma in social communications media from Sophia College[5] After working in film and television for over a decade as writer-director-producer,[3] she re-located to Goa.

She is now the author of ten published books,[4][6] including Dead As A Dodo, which won The Sahitya Akademi Bal Puruskar for 2020 and The Hindu for Good Reads award for best fiction for children 2016.

Her work for television in Singapore includes the telefilm, Angel, and the series Anything Goes, Rojak, Bold and Bollywood, Rehai among others.

She wrote a column for The Indian Express titled "The Tale of Two Cities" that covered the difference between lives in privileged South Mumbai and life beyond Bandra.