Arjun Rampal was born on 26 November 1972 in a military family in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. He was first spotted by fashion designer Rohit Bal and promoted extensively in the modelling world. In 1994, he grabbed Society magazine's 'Face of the Year' title and his modelling career took off.

Rampal made his debut in Hindi cinema with Rajiv Rai's romance Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat (2001) after appearing in a music video directed by Rai. Though the film did not do well, Rampal showed promise. He followed up with appearances in Ashok Mehta's Moksha (2001) and Ashu Trikha's Deewanapan (2001), winning an award for Most Promising Newcomer (Male) for the latter in 2002. The next couple of years saw him in a few commercial failures. Rampal's breakthrough came with Farhan Akhtar's Don: The Chase Begins Again (2006) starring Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra. He won the Zee Cine award for Best Actor in a Negative Role for his performance as a cold-blooded antagonist in Farah Khan's romantic musical Om Shanti Om (2007).

The following year, Rampal delivered a good performance in Abhishek Kapoor's musical drama film Rock On!! (2008) and won the prestigious National award for Best Supporting Actor at the 56th National Film Awards. His performances in Rituparno Ghosh's The Last Lear (2007), Prakash Jha's Rajneeti (2010) and Chakravyuh (2012), and Nikhil Advani's D-Day (2013) established him as a leading actor in Hindi cinema.

Rampal has his own production house, Chasing Ganesha Films, which he runs with his wife, one-time top model Mehr Jesia. His home production I See You (2006) was a commercial failure but received critical recognition. Rampal was voted Time magazine's India's Most Desirable Man in 2012. He also campaigned to ban horse-drawn carriages in Mumbai as an active member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in 2013.