Supriya Pathak was born on 7 January 1961 to veteran actress Dina Pathak. She comes from a family deeply involved with film. Her sister is actress Ratna Pathak (wife of Naseeruddin Shah), her husband is seasoned actor Pankaj Kapur, she is niece of actress Tarla Mehta and actor Shahid Kapoor is her step-son.

Pathak had gained experience in theatre before she stepped into the film industry. Her debut film was the critically acclaimed Kalyug (1981) which also won her a Filmfare Award. After this, she gave impressive performances in films like Vijeta (1982), Bazaar (1982), Masoom (1983) and Mirch Masala (1985). She also appeared in the award winning biopic Gandhi (1982) and starred in the 1988 French film The Bengali Night (1988) opposite Hugh Grant.

In the 1990s, Pathak took take a break from the film industry, but she continued working for television.

After a long gap of 11 years, she was seen on the big screen in Sarkar (2005) opposite Amitabh Bachchan. After this, she played many supporting roles, including as mother to Ranbir Kapoor in the hit film Wake Up Sid (2009). The audiences enthusiastically accepted her once again. Pathak was also seen in Goliyon Ki Rasleela: Ram-Leela (2013) with Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh. Her performance in the film fetched her immense positive reviews and was critically and commercially appreciated. It won her the International Indian Film Academy Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role and Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress, amongst many others.

She also played significant roles in All Is Well (2015) and Kis Kis Ko Pyar Karoon (2015).

On television, one of her most popular characters was in Khichdi (2002-04) as Hansa Praful Parekh. This won her numerous awards for one of the best performances in a comic role. Her most recent appearance was in the film Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon (2015).