Born in 1911 at Surat city of Gujarat in western India, Zubeida was the daughter of Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Muhammad Yakut Khan III of Sachin State and Fatma Begum.

They had also shared the screen in Zubeida's first blockbuster, Veer Abhimanyu released two years earlier in 1922, that also had their mother, Fatma Begum, who playing an important role.

[5] Through the 30s and early 40s she made a hit team with Jal Merchant and starred in several successful historical epic films playing characters like Subhadra, Uttara and Draupadi.

She was also successful in portraying emotions with films such as Ezra Mir's Zarina, and Shatir which had her playing a vibrant, volatile circus girl whose kisses steamed up the screen and sparked off heated debate on censorship.

Born in a Muslim family, Zubeida converted to Hinduism to marry Maharaj Narsingir Dhanrajgir Gyan Bahadur of Hyderabad.

She died on 21 September 1988, aged 76 or 77, in Bombay[7] and was laid to rest at Chhatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj Marg, Apollo Bunder, Colaba, south Mumbai.