Amrita was born to a Mangalorean Brahmin family in Mumbai, India. Her father owns an advertising company in Mumbai and also turned author in 2008. She speaks Hindi, English, Marathi, besides her mother tongue, Konkani. She attended the Canossa Convent High School (Mahim) in Mumbai, and later enrolled in Sophia College to pursue a degree in Psychology. Her younger sister, Preetika Rao, is a model and well-known film journalist and columnist.
Her first role in 2007 was a special appearance for the song “Heyy Babyy” in the eponymous film, Heyy Babyy. She then made her debut in the Telugu film industry with Athidhi opposite Mahesh Babu. Amrita’s movies in 2008 include My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves with Nikhil Dwivedi and Welcome to Sajjanpur with Shreyas Talpade. The following year, she portrayed Nandini in Victory and Mansi in Shortkut opposite Arshad Warsi.