Chopra was born on 3 May 1986. She is the child of a single mother and was brought up by her mother and grandmother. Pooja Chopra is a resident of Pune, Maharashtra. She has an older sister named Shubra Chopra.

2009–12: Pageantry and career beginnings

Pooja Chopra was crowned with the 2009 Femina Miss India East title on 17 February 2009, in Kolkata. She also won Miss Perfect 10, Miss Catwalk, Miss Beautiful Smile, Talwarkars Best Body, and Nakshatra Miss Sparkling Beauty, thus gaining direct entry into the top ten finalists of the Femina Miss India 2009. On 5 April 2009, Pooja Chopra was crowned the Pantaloons Femina Miss India-World 2009.

Chopra sprained her ankle while running down a flight of stairs one week prior to the Miss World final on 12 December 2009. Doctors advised her 3 weeks complete bed-rest, but she continued with the competition. Chair of the Miss World Organization Julia Morley suggested that Pooja drop out of the dance round, and so she took only a few steps before being allowed to stop. She finished as one of the top sixteen finalists out of 112 contestants

On 12 December 2009, she won the "Beauty With a Purpose" title at Miss World 2009 based on her charitable work in the India "Nanhi Kali" project. She won US$10,000 for her "Nanhi Kali" project which helps small girls fight poverty.

During her reign she endorsed brands such as Tata Docomo, Bajaj Allainz,^[12] Richfeel,^[13] Body and Soul, Roots Comb, Evolve Med Spa,^[14] and Juvederm Voluma.^[15] On 30 April 2010 Pooja crowned her successor Manasvi Mamgai as the next Miss India World.

Pooja was also featured in Times 50 Most Beautiful Women at No. 28. The list features India's most beautiful faces.^[16]

2013–present: Acting debut and recent work

Chopra made her acting debut in the 2011 Tamil film, Ponnar Shankar,^[17] playing the role of Princess Muthaayi, opposite Prashanth Thiagarajan. The film was written by the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi and directed by Thiagarajan.^[18] Before she made her debut in Bollywood as a leading lady, she had minor roles in Madhur Bhandarkar's films Fashion and Heroine.^[19]

She recently was seen in Vipul Shah's action film Commando opposite Vidyut Jammwal, where she appeared in her first lead role .^[20] Taran Adarsh mentioned that COMMANDO is, at heart, an action fare, but as the reels unfold, you realise her role in the film has shades that are essential for a Hindi film heroine and Pooja Chopra gives it her best shot. She's photogenic, but most significantly, comes across as a poised and self-assured actress.Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya is a 2016 Indian Comedy action drama movie directed by Anwer Khan. It features Jimmy Shergill, Arbaaz Khan, Bruna Abdullah and Pooja Chopra in lead roles. The film released on 2 September 2016. Chopra starred in Neeraj Pandey's short film "Ouch," a dramatic love story.^[21][22]

Meena Iyer from Times of India also mentioned, "Pooja Chopra (Femina Miss India-2009) is super-confident in her film debut and a welcome addition to Bollywood's heroines".^[23]