Chandran was born in Mumbai to a Tamil family. She had stated in an interview of Nettv4u, that she was born and raised in Mumbai, but her family originates from Vayaloor, Tiruchirapally, Tamil Nadu. Her grand parents who were the fourth generation had migrated to Palakkad, Kerala. Her father worked at USIS and is a former actor. Chandran earned her B.A. from Mithibai College, Mumbai and subsequently an M.A. in Economics.

In May 1981, while travelling in Tamil Nadu, Chandran met with an accident in which her legs were wounded. She received initial medical treatment of her injuries at a local hospital and was later admitted to Vijaya Hospital at Madras. After doctors discovered that gangrene had formed on her right leg, amputation was required.^[8] Chandran says that this period was the toughest time of her life. She subsequently overcame her disability with the help of a prosthetic Jaipur foot.^[9] She returned to dancing after a gap of two years and performed in India, Saudi Arabia, United States, UK, Canada, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain , Yemen and Oman . Her biography is part of curriculum for school children in the age group of 8-11.^[10]

Chandran married assistant director Ravi Dang in 1994.^[3] She was given an honorary doctorate by Invertis University, Bareily.

Chandran started her career with a Telugu film 'Mayuri', which was based on her own life. The film was later dubbed in Tamil and Malayalam. It was also remade in Hindi as Naache Maayuri, where Chandran again played herself and co-starred with Shekhar Suman, Aruna Irani and Dina Pathak. She was awarded the 1986 Special Jury Award at the National Film Awards for her performance in Mayuri.

Chandran's notable shows on television include Kaahin Kissii Roz and K Street Pali Hill. She was a contestant on the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 2 in 2007. She appears as yamini in the 2015 TV serial Naagin.

As Judge

• 1986: National Film Award – Special Jury Award for Mayuri
• 2004: Star Parivaar Awards Star Parivaar award for Best Mother in Law for "Kaahin Kissii Roz"
• 2005: Indian Television Academy Award for Best Actress in a negative role for Tumhari Disha
• 2013: Asianet Television awards 2013 Best Character actress for Aardram
• 2014: Vijay Television Award for Best Supporting Actress for Deivam Thandha Veedu
• 2015: Vijay Television Award for Best Mother in Law for Deivam Thandha Veedu
• 2016: Colors Golden Petal Award for Power Packed Performance for Naagin
• 2017: Colors Golden Petal Award for Best Actor in a Comic Role for "Naagin 2"

• List of Indian film actresses