Jha was born on 26 February 1986 in Begusarai, Bihar, India.[3] She went to live with her family in Kolkata, where they stayed for 10 years, then moved to Kathmandu, Nepal. They then moved to New Delhi, where she continued her studies at Laxman Public School.[4] She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in English at Sri Venkateswara College, New Delhi. She has an elder sister, Meenakshi and a younger brother, Shashank.[5]
From 2014 to 2021, she played Pragya Mehra in Ekta Kapoor's Kumkum Bhagya opposite Shabir Ahluwalia, and received wider critical acclaim and praise. She became a household name with her portrayal of Pragya and won several awards.
In January 2021, Jha recited a poem, "Confessions Of An Asexual Romantic", during the 2020 Kommune India Spoken Fest, in which she spoke about how the life of an asexual might be and how there is a lack of freedom in India when it comes to talking about one's sexuality.[9] In an interview, she clarified she is not an asexual and that the poem isn't about her.[10] She also recited two more poems regarding people with different sexual preferences and the problems they face such as "Choodiyaan" which talks about a gay male,[11] and "Chaabi Gum Gai Hai", based on a lesbian female.[12] In "It's Pehla Pyaar Every Time", she talks about how every time we fall in love, it feels as if it's the first time.[13]
Her other works, such as "To Like? Or To Love?" differentiate between loving and liking and how liking is free of boundaries while love is limiting.[14] Jha's first open letter "A Letter To Myself" is about what she wants to tell her 15-year-old self in the past and that we should never compromise under any circumstance.[15] In this collaboration with ITC Vivel, Jha inspires women to uncondition, challenge stereotypes and go forth to fulfill their dreams with confidence and say out loud, "Ab Samjhauta Nahin". She also presented a poem "Cheesy Stupid Ishq"[16] as a narrator a day before the Valentines Day in 2021.
