She has appeared in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi films.
Koppikhar was born in Mumbai, India.
Her family is of Mangalorean origin and she has one younger brother.
Koppikhar graduated in Life Sciences at Ramnarain Ruia College in Mumbai.
It was during her time at college that she appeared in a photoshoot for Indian photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha.
Koppikhar contested the 1995 Miss India Contest, winning the Miss Talent Crown.
Her modelling work gave her an introduction to the film industry and to her first film appearance in the Tamil movie Kaadhal Kavithai in 1998.
Koppikhar has acted in over forty films and has several Hindi films in production or due for release in 2008.
She continues to model for fashion designer Anita Dongre and is currently the Indian representative of the Italian fashion company Police Watches and Jewellery.
Outside her work in film, music and television, Koppikhar is a spokesperson for the animal rights organisation PETA.
Koppikhar’s career is said to have begun with the 1998 Tamil film Kaadhal Kavithai, co-starring alongside Prashanth, and directed by Agathyan, with music by Maestro Ilaiyaraaja. Koppikhar was awarded the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award.
In 2004, Koppikhar’s films were releasing on average every two months.
Karan Razdan’s controversial Girlfriend, co-starring Amrita Arora and Aashish Chaudhary caught in a lesbian love triangle. The film provoked public poster burning and calls for the film to be banned. The Khallas Girl was in the news again.
Between filming Koppikhar, like many Bollywood actors, performs in stage music shows.
In addition to this she has appeared in two music videos: Patli Kamar by KK for a private album commissioned by Sony in 2001/2002; and Bandish Projekt’s Bhor (Satyam Shivam Sundaram) in 2004, choreographed by Bosco-Caesar.
In 2006 she appeared onstage in the Indian Idol Grand Final to dance with the two finalists, and 2007 saw her as one of three judges in the celebrity dance competition Nach Baliye3, alongside director David Dhawan and Vaibhavi Merchant.
Koppikhar served as a judge in the Miss Universe 2008 contest, held on the 14th July in Vietnam alongside, amongst others, fashion designer Roberto Cavalli and former winner in 2004 Jennifer Hawkins.