Kamini Kaushal was born in Lahore, Pakistan. She completed her schooling and her graduation in English literature from Lahore itself.
She is said to have started her career as a stage actress, and was also believed to be working as a radio artist, before she got a break in Chetan Anand's film, Neecha Nagar (1946). However, soon after, her sister passed away , leaving behind young children, and she married her sister's husband, who was an officer with the Port Trust of Mumbai.
She settled down in Mumbai after her marriage, and thereafter, received several offers of roles in various films.
Kamini Kaushal worked with all the top leading men of her time such as Ashok Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar ('Shaheed' (1948), 'Nadiya Ke Paar' (1949), 'Shabnam' (1949) and 'Arzoo' (1950).
Kamini Kaushal excelled at playing character roles, and featured particularly in many such roles in movies starring Manoj Kumar.
She was said to be Dilip Kumar's first love, and there were rumours of an affair between the two.
She is also a writer of children’s stories. She also worked for television. Working in serials such as "Chand Sitare". She was seen recently in the popular serial, "Shanno Ki Shaadi" in which she essays the character of Bebe, the heroine's grandmother.