Sharma was born to a Delhi-based Punjabi family.

Sharma made her film debut in Tamil romance film Kaadhale Nimmadhi (1998). The next year, she played a supporting role in Subhash Ghai's musical drama Taal (1999). Her breakthrough came with the romantic action film Yeh Dil Aashiqanaa (2002). Directed by Kuku Kohli, it featured Sharma playing a terrorist's sister opposite Karan Nath. Rediff.com's reviewer wrote that she had "done a good job" but Anna M.M. Vetticad of India Today felt that she had not shown spark. That same year she played the lead role in Telugu film Yuvaratna. A critic wrote for The Hindu that except the last few scenes, Sharma was "lifeless throughout". Full Hyderabad's reviewer noted that she was "one of those assembly-line heroines for Tollywood". A Hindi film Sila with her in the lead role was announced but never completed.^[11]

Mini Punjab (2009) marked Sharma's debut in Punjabi films and she was paired with Gurdas Maan.^[4][12] She followed this with Yaar Anmule (2011),^[13] Dil Le Gayi Kudi Punjab Di (2013), Lion of Punjab^[1] and Dil Saada Lutiya Gaya.^[5] The latter, a romantic film had her paired opposite Ashmit Patel.^[14]

Aroona Irani, the producer of Yeh Dil Aashiqanaa, cast Sharma for her TV serials Tum Bin Jaaon Kahan and Zameen Se Aasman Tak. The former was well received and dealt with the topic of life after death.^[15] Later, however, she was removed from these shows due to some differences with Irani who reportedly regretted giving her the film role.^[16]