Vidya Sinha began modeling and acting at the age of 18. She was Miss Bombay and modeled for several brands which led to her discovery by Basu Chatterjee. Her first movie came after marriage, she made her debut was in the movie Raja Kaka (1974) opposite Kiran Kumar. However, fame came to her through a low-budget, alternative cinema break-away hit Rajnigandha (1974), directed by her mentor Basu Chatterjee.

The movie, although having none of the trappings of a typical Bollywood blockbuster, was a major box office success. This was followed by many more small-budget films like Choti Si Baat (1975), and later by more mainstream, bigger budget Bollywood productions like Pati Patni Aur Woh (1977). She is known for her pleasant roles in various movies she acted during her active career life. She did 30 movie roles over a period of 12 years.

By the mid-1980s, this type of role was no longer popular in the Hindi film industry. She wound down her film work and finally called it a day by 1986. After some years in Australia, Vidya returned to India and gradually came back to acting. On 9 January 2009 Vidya filed a complaint with the police accusing Netaji Bhimrao Salunkhe of physical and mental torture. They were divorced soon afterwards, and after a protracted battle she won her case against him for maintenance. She returned to films in Salman Khan's Bodyguard in 2011.