Leela Desai was born in Newark, New Jersey, during her parents’ three-year tour of America. Her father was a Gujarati doctor and her mother a musician from Bihar. The family returned to India when she was an infant, settling in Rampur. Leela developed a passion for dance and trained rigorously in Kathak under renowned gurus in Lucknow, despite initial resistance from her mother. Her artistic foundation in classical dance shaped her screen presence and made her one of the pioneering actresses to bring authentic dance sequences to Indian cinema.
Her film career began in the late 1930s, with notable roles in Dushman (1939) and Nagagnarayan (1943). She often acted alongside her sister Ramola, including in Kaliyan (1944). Beyond acting, she contributed to cinema as associate producer of Kabuliwala (1961). Though she acted in only 11 films, her impact was significant in shaping the early aesthetics of Hindi cinema, blending classical dance with narrative storytelling.