Born in Kolkatta (West Bengal) to a Bengali family, Paoli Dam is a post graduate in chemistry began her acting career in Bengali television serials. Her first small screen appearance was in a TV serial Jibon Niye Kheya for (Zee Bangla) in 2003. Later she did many serials like Tihir Athithi, which ran for six years, directed by Jishu Das Gupta. Dam’s debut Bengali movie was Agnipariksha (2006) in which she played a supporting role. Her next release was Mithun Chakraborty and Rachana Bannerji starrer Tulkaram, followed by I Love You and Hochheta Ki, a comedy of errors wherein Dam was a housewife. It was her fourth Bengali film, directed by Basu Chatterjee.
In 2009, Paoli Dam came into the limelight with Kaalbela, directed by Gautam Ghose which was based on a Bengali novel by Samaresh Majumdar. The movie was based on Naxalite movement (1980) in which she played a girlfriend of a young Naxalite leader. Her performance in the film was whole-heartedly appreciated. In 2011, Dam received International recognition for her role in a Bengali film Chatrak. The film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival and also at film festivals in Toronto, UK.
After gaining success in Bengali cinema, Paoli Dam made a successful entry in Vikram Bhatt’s erotic thriller Hate Story (2002) in a sensuous role followed by another Bhatt productions Ankur Arora Murder Case, directed by Suhail Tatari.
Paoli Dam is once again in the news for her bold appearance in the current release Yaara Silly Silly, where Paoli plays a character of a sex worker in the film opposite Parambrata Chatterjee with whom she has worked in several Bengali movies. The chemistry between them has been captured in a beautifully, subtle and hilarious yet intense manner. It is directed by Subhash Sehgal. Paoli’s powerful performance in Yaara Silly Silly indicates a National Award for her this year