Actress Nandana Sen was born in Calcutta on 19 August 1967, one of two daughters of Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen, and author Nabanita Dev Sen. Nandana Sen is a well-known children's rights activist, children’s author, actress and screenwriter. She was first published when still a child in the magazine Sandesh, following a selection by Satyajit Ray. Nandana Sen studied literature at Harvard University, where she excelled as a student. She went on to study film production at the Peter Stark Producing Program at the USC Film School. During this time, she wrote and directed short films, including her thesis film Arranged Marriage, which was screened at several international film festivals. She trained in acting and dramatics at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, New York, as well as the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London. Nandana Sen began her acting career while still a student with the psychodrama The Doll/Gudia (1997), which premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival. She continued to act in international projects before she made her first major appearance in a Hindi film, alongside Rani Mukerji and Amitabh Bachchan, in Black (2005), directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The same year, she appeared in My Wife's Murder (2005) and Tango Charlie (2005).

Nandana Sen has continued to work on international projects, captivating audiences with her performance in The War Within (2005) and The World Unseen (2006) and becoming known as an actress who is drawn to offbeat, challenging roles. She has also worked in mainstream Hindi cinema with films like Prince (2010) and Jhootha Hi Sahi (2010). The actress also starred in the Bengali superhit Autograph (2010) which got her accolades from critics as well as the masses. Her film Rang Rasiya (2008), first screened during the London Film Festival and released in India in 2014, was critically acclaimed for her erotic performance as the muse of renowned painter Raja Ravi Varma. She has also acted in the British television series Sharpe.

Nandana Sen is also a screenwriter and a published writer. Her poems and narrative non-fiction writings have been seen in various publications. She contributes articles to newspapers and journals. As an activist, she is UNICEF India's National Celebrity for Child Protection and against Gender Based Violence. She works with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) as a Child Rights Expert and Juror for Public Hearings.

Nandana Sen is married to John Makinson, chairman of Penguin Random House, one of the world's biggest publishing companies.