Amisha Patel is the daughter of Amit Patel and Asha Patel, sister of Ashmit Patel and the granddaughter of the famous lawyer-politician Barrister Rajni Patel who was the Congress Pradesh Committee President of Bombay. Her name is a blend of the first three letters of her father’s name Amit and the last three letters of her mother’s name Asha.

She studied at the Cathedral and John Connon High School in Bombay and graduated from Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. After she graduated, she modelled for several products an then worked in a financial company for Morgan Stanley. After returning to India she joined Satyadev Dubey's theatre group and acting in plays, upon receiving permission from her conservative parents.