Sanjay Suri was born on April 6th 1971, in Srinagar, Kashmir, where he spent 19 years of his life. He is the youngest of three siblings, having an older brother and sister. Living in Srinagar he developed a strong love for nature and the outdoors. As a child Sanjay was a star squash player and was on his school and state teams.

When Sanjay moved to New Delhi in 1990, he was thrust into the world of modelling. He modelled for a large number of companies including Gillette, Nilkamal Furniture, Times of India, and Philishave. In 1993, after a stint in Garment/Home furnishing business was the time when he first stepped into the glare of the arc lights.

In an introspective mood, Sanjay sometimes thinks that his joining the film industry has something to do with trying to regain that lost identity when he moved from Srinagar ‘Kashmir’ to Delhi. Sanjay and his family became migrants in their own country and they were called ‘refugees’. “The identity we irrevocably lost, was thanks to gun-toting terrorists who killed my father in Jammu and Kashmir, – and the reason why I along with my family had toleave our home town Srinagar in less than 5 hours with my fathers dead body. The incident, which occurred in 1990 on August 1st, in one moment wiped out 19 years of my life”, recalls Sanjay with a vacant, distant look in his eyes. This move was forced on his family because of the insurgency and terrorism taking over and shattering the tranquility of beautiful Kashmir.

Back in Delhi he worked in an export house, and finally set up his own small business. To supplement his income, Sanjay started modeling and that’s when he moved to Mumbai. Sanjay anchored a travel show and also worked in a T.V. serial in Mumbai. In 1999, came his first film Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi . “My work was liked and my acting was noticed. That’s all I could have asked for at that point in time”. With his next films, Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence (2001), Filhaal... and the musical Dil Vil Pyar Vyar (2002) Suri proved his mettle as a fine actor.

In Pinjar he got rave reviews but it wasn't until Jhankaar Beats later that year that he became popular. His role alongside Juhi Chawla was greatly appreciated. Slowly he got more roles in movies but his movies flopped continuously. Despite the failure of his films, his performances continued to be appreciated.

In 2005 he proved all his detractors wrong when he delivered a critically acclaimed performance in My Brother… Nikhil as a homosexual AIDS victim. The movie received unanimous praise among Indian film critics.

It was the turning point in his professional life as he was accepted and appreciated in the Hindi film industry for his talent and sincerity. Soon Sanjay started acting in films that were later critically acclaimed and he got the tag of ‘the thinking Actor’. His choice of films set him apart from his contemporaries.

Sanjay married his psychologist girlfriend, Ambika from Delhi in November 2001. He laughs and says, "I am her first case study and quite frankly enjoy being so! Sanjay has a son and enjoys both mountains and beaches. He is even fond of travel photography.