She was born to Chandran and Kanthimathi in 1949 at Fort Kochi, Travancore-Cochin (now Kerala). She had four sisters and a brother. She pursued degree from St Thereses College Ernakulam. She owned a dance troupe. She was selected as Miss Kerala in 1972.

Her first film, Anjusundarikal, was widely accepted by the audience. Other major films included Ulsavam, Kadarumasam, Nellu, Swapnadanam, Oonjal, Alinganam, Abhinandanam, Sindoooram, Thirumadhuram, and Anuragam. She won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress for the film Swapnadanam. Rani Chandra played the major role in the very popular Tamil cinema song "Kannan Oru Kaikuzhanthai" on YouTube in the film Bhadrakali.

Rani Chandra, her mother, and three sisters were killed in Indian Airlines Flight 171 crash in 1976.^[4][5] They were on a return flight from Bombay when their plane caught fire and nose dived near the airport, killing everyone on board. They were returning from a Dance performance in the Middle East. Ironically, their earlier flight from Bombay to Madras returned to Bombay shortly after take off after a snag hit. The aircraft and all passengers were re-boarded onto the flight. The dead included members of her music troupe as well.

After her death, the unfinished portion of the movie Bhadrakali was finished using a double. The movie ends using earlier footage of Rani Chandra.

Kerala State Film Awards:

• 1975 Best Actress - Swapnadanam

Malayalam

Tamil

• Bhadrakali (1976)
• Swami Ayyappan (1975)
• Then Sindhudhe Vaanam (1975)
• Radha (1973)