Takia was raised in Bombay. She claims that she grew up speaking English at home and had to learn Hindi for her film roles. In 2006, Ayesha Takia was amongst the Top Ten on the listing of India's 50 Most Desirable Women Alive, a poll conducted by Zoom, an Indian TV channel.

She has been a photographic model since she was four years old. She appeared in a music video, Falguni Pathak's Meri Chunar Udd Udd Jaye, when she was only fifteen. Takia vehemently claims that her video Shake it Daddy" was indeed a hit. Her video fame gave her the entry into Bollywood. She signed a contract for Socha Na Tha, then for Taarzan: The Wonder Car. However, delays in making Socha Na Tha meant that Taarzan released first and was therefore her "debut" film. Most of her films have done somewhat poorly at the box office so far.

More recently, Takia has been trying to break into the Telugu movie industry.

She won the Filmfare Best Debut Award in 2004 for her performance in Taarzan. She has previously dated Siddharth Koirala, brother of actress - Manisha Koirala.