Born on 17th September in Chennai, Priya was brought up in both Chennai and Hyderabad. Priya is proficient in English, Tamil and Telugu and speaks a little Bengali, Hindi and Spanish. Priya, who describes herself as "naturally extremely hyperactive", became fascinated by films, developing an interest in cinema since childhood. She moved to the U. S., where she pursued her higher studies and returned to India in 2008 to pursue a career in films. She first ventured into modeling, appearing in various television commercials like Nutrine Maha Lacto, Prince Jewellery and Cadbury Dairy Milk.  

She was initially supposed to make her acting debut in the Tamil film Pugaippadam, which she signed first but since its release was delayed until 2010, her first release became the action-thriller Vaamanan, directed by newcomer Ahmed.  She next starred in her first Telugu film, AVM Productions' Sekhar Kammula directed political drama Leader, alongside newcomers Rana Daggubati and Richa Gangopadhyay.