Suman Ranganathan is a known face in Hindi, Tamil and Kannada films. She is an Indian model and actress known for her curly hair and glamorous looks. She is also seen in ample ad campaigns. She was also was one of the judges in the panel of judges for the Mr. India World 2007. She debuted with the award winning Kannada film Santa Shishinala Shareefa, in which she played the character of the wife of Shareefa played by Sridhar. Her acting skill in that movie was appreciated. She got the next big commercial break through after the then Kannada superstar Shankar Nag cast her in his directorial venture C.B.I Shankar. He himself also acted in the title role of this film.

Suman Ranganathan was praised by critics for her role in Fareb (1996), which was her first Bollywood film and an Indian adaptation of Unlawful Entry (1992). Her performance was highly appreciated by the critics for her scene-stealing performance as a spoiled Indian-American socialite in the film Aa Ab Laut Chalen (1999). However, her most noteworthy achievement in film came in the year 2003 with the release of the hit film Baghban.