The very talented actress Sonali Kulkarni was born in Pune, which is situated in the Indian state of Maharashtra. She went to attend Abhinav Vidyalaya and then majored in Political Science from Fergussson College besides winning a scholarship for Marathi literature. She hails from an academically inclined family and her father was an engineer while her two brothers also fared very well in their academic career. She was also an above-average student always scoring between 80s and 90s. Since her childhood days only she has remained very passionate about the art of acting. She also had a flair for learning languages and being in the film industry picked up several languages including Gujarati, Tamil and Italian apart from Marathi, Hindi and English. She was very active since her early days and participated in almost all the co curricular activities. In those days she also performed at the Ganapati Utsav in a colony of Pune.

Sonali Kulkarni got her first break when she went to attend the workshop by the noted theater personality Satyadev Dubey and from then on realized the importance of the selection of one creative pursuit. At that very point she was also convinced that she would make a career in acting and went on to establish a theater group in Pune along with her younger brother Sandesh and named it `Samanvay`. She claimed in a recently held interview that her theater griup is all about passionate people who share an extreme inclination towards the art of acting, direction and production. Sonali Kulkarni, Sandesh Kulkarni, Nikhil Ratnaparkhi, Shashank Shende, Amrita Subash, Kiran, Nilesh Kulkarni and Sameer Doshi are the core members of the theater group and each person in the group is a name to reckon with today, in their respective specialties. She also claims that theater is her mother and cinema her father and she needs both the mediums in equal proportion in her life.

In movies Sonali Kulkarni landed with her first break in the flick called `Cheluvi` which was directed by none other than the renowned playwright and filmmaker Girish Karnad. After that there was no looking back for this actress and she went onto star in many of the Bollywood flicks and always believes in her instincts while choosing a film. She also does not like to indulge herself in the rat race and does not believe in comparisons with her contemporaries. Her competition is with herself and so for nothing lower than the sky is the limit. She has also not marked her entry into the Bollywood film industry to prove anything to anyone. She is very happy with the pace of her career and for the diversity that she gets to portray in the various flicks also becomes emotionally taxing for her at some points. But she enjoys the challenge that she gets to depict in all the roles that she is offered.

On the personal front however home is a place for her to relax and it is in her own little paradise that she feels at ease with herself. One will find creativity at its peak during the visit in her home and she had loved every moment in making it herself. Working out is a must for her, as she tends to put on weight very easily. About her religion and culture she is very proud and also believes in the belief of God and in oneself. She also believes that mere prayers do not help one to become successful; the only thing that pays is hard work and dedication. She holds a strong belief in the power of human beings.

In the recent past Sonali Kulkarni was seen as an active participant in the celebrity dance show `Jhhalak Dikhhlaja 2`. But to her utter disappointment she was voted out. She is also the guest editor of `Viva`, which is a supplement of Loksatta. Every week she writes one column and it is named after the abbreviation of her name `So Kool`. About her film career also she has gained creative satisfaction to the hilt. Her new film `White Rainbow` directed by Dharam Mandrayer is a touching story about the widows of Vrindavan and her role is based on the real life character of social activist Mohini Giri who runs the Guild of Service in Vrindavan. The Italian film Fuoco Di Su Me (translates to Fire at my Heart) in which she acted earned her the honour of Red Carpet Grand Screening at the 62nd Venice Film Festival. It was also a great honour for her to share the red carpet with the legendary Omar Shariff. About her future she claims that she is still enjoying her journey on the road less traveled.