Aggarwal was born on 11 January 1969 in New Delhi, and was raised in Chennai. She was a gold medalist in sociology at Delhi University. After a brief stint in modelling, and VJing, and appearance in the Doordarshan serial Isi Bahane (1988), she made her Bollywood debut with the musical blockbuster Aashiqui, following which she was much in demand. She posed nude in the short movie The Cloud Door.

To recuperate after a 29-day coma. She lives in Bihar and is single. She practices yoga at the Bihar school of yoga in Munger, Bihar. She is also an amateur power-lifter and after her accident has competed in many power-lifting competitions. She quoted in one of her interviews "To feel strong, to walk amongst humans with a tremendous feeling of confidence and superiority is not at all wrong. The sense of superiority in bodily strength is borne out by the long history of mankind paying homage in folklore, song and poetry to strong women".