Manisha Koirala belongs to a politically prominent family. As an experiment, she made her acting debut in 1989 with the Nepali film Pheri Bhetaula during a break after her board exams

Manisha aspired to become a doctor and moved to Delhi. However, she signed up for a couple of modelling assignments and gradually shifted her focus to acting

She was cast for Subhash Ghai's Saudagar (1991) and it was her Hindi debut. The film was a box office hit and opened many doors for Manisha

After the success of Saudagar, Manisha's next few films like First Love Letter (1991), Anmol and Dhanwan (both 1993) failed at the box office and she was labeled 'a jinx' by producers

Manisha bounced back with 1942 A Love Story and her journey to stardom began 

Manisha wasn't Vidhu Vinod Chopra's first choice for 1942 A Love Story. He had chosen Madhuri Dixit and Anil Kapoor as they were a hit pair. After rejecting her first screen test, the director signed Manisha based on her second audition 

Manisha did her first Tamil film, Bombay, in 1995 at a time when her contemporaries advised her to not do non-Hindi films. The risk and efforts paid off

Manisha acted in Agnisakshi (1996). During the film's shoot, she fell in love with Nana Patekar but they broke up in 2003. Reports claim that physical abuse on his part could have been one of the reasons

Manisha's second Tamil film was Indian in 1996 with Kamal Haasan. It was India's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film for the Academy Awards

Manisha acted in Khamoshi: The Musical with Salman Khan and Nana Patekar. While the film wasn't a box-office success, it received critical acclaim

Dil Se in 1997 marked her reunion with Mani Ratnam. It was a successful collaboration. It became the first Indian film to enter the top 10 in the United Kingdom's box office charts

In 2000, Manisha ventured into television and hosted the reality show Sawaal Dus Crore Ka with Anupam Kher

Years after replacing her in 1942 A Love Story, Manisha shared the screen space with Madhuri Dixit in Lajja in 2001

The release of her film Ek Chotisi Love Story was stayed after she accused the director of using her body double to shoot some love scenes in the film, and portraying her in bad light by shooting positions using another actress in her place, without her approval. A court finally decided to stay the release of the film

Manisha went to New York in 2004 to study filmmaking. She also produced one of India's first chick flicks, Paisa Vasool starring Sushmita Sen

After a hiatus and string of flops, Manisha tasted success once again in 2010 with Onir's anthology titled I Am. Her Tamil film Mappilla was also received well

Manisha was diagnosed with cancer in 2012. After recovering from it in 2014, she made her comeback with Dear Maya (2017)

In 2018, she made her OTT debut with Netflix's anthology titled Lust Stories. In the same year, she played the role of actress Nargis in Rajkumar Hirani's Sanju

Manisha acted in the American comedy film India Sweets and Spices in 2021

Earlier this year, Manisha was seen in the role of Kartik Aaryan's mother in Shehzada. In an interview, she admitted that it was ‘tough’ on her ego to play his mother after being the leading lady in films for the longest time