Kalki Koechlin, who is of French descent, was born in Kallatty, Tamil Nadu. After a stint in theatre, she started doing television commercials. Kalki made her debut in Anurag Kashyap's Dev D, where she played the role of the prostitute, Chanda. She was next seen in Bejoy Nambiar's Shaitan (2011), Kashyap's That Girl In Yellow Boots (also the co-writer), and Zoya Akhtar's Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.

She married filmmaker Anurag Kashyap on April 30, 2011 in a private wedding ceremony in Ooty. The two had been dating each other since the release of 'Dev.D'.

In 2012, she acted in the critically-acclaimed Dibakar Banerjee film, Shanghai. In 2013, she was seen in Kannan Iyer's Ek Thi Daayan, alongside Emraan Hashmi, Huma Qureshi and Konkona Sen Sharma. She was last seen in the Ranbir Kapoor-Deepika Padukone starrer, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.