She studied in Fort Convent School, Mumbai.
She has starred in some movies as well as serials in Indian television She became popular after a television series, Air Hostess aired on Doordarshan in 1986, and received critical acclaim for her roles in Dance of the Wind (1997), Deepa Mehta"s Earth (1998), Govind Nihalani"s Rukhmavati Ki Haveli (1991), Kamal Haasan"s Abhay and Deham (2001). Her Sindhi parents migrated from Pakistan after the partition.
They lived in a refugee camp in Worli.
She has a brother. Her post graduation days saw her interested in French and she started acting in French plays. Soon she was acting in English plays directed by Janak Toprani.
She acted in some television serials and subsequently acted in a French film Black (1987), playing a Brazilian girl in lieutenant She has never been married and has vowed never to settle down at the risk of her pursuit of what she calls "duende," a search for harmony with the many magical aspects of living and nature.
Gidwani made her television debut in 1984 on the television soap Trishna, and during the 1980s and "90s, gave some memorable performances in television serials like Swabhimaan, Air Hostess and Junoon.
She caught a lot of attention after her kissing scene in bed with actor Raj Zutshi in Junoon. In 1997, she was doing four serials at one time, besides Swabhimaan and Junoon, she was also acting in Saahil, Yeh Kahan Aa Gaye Humanity, Latin She recently appeared in multi-starrer Hindi serials Kaashish and Kulvadhu.
In 1997, she played the role of a Hindustani classical singer, Pallavi, who struggles to get her voice back after losing her mentor/mother, in Dance of the Wind.
In Pankaj Butalia"s Shadows in the Dark she played Lajma, a middle-aged woman living in present-day Pakistan. In the 2010s she played small roles in Fashion, Dhobi Ghat and Student of the Year.
In 2001, in conjunction with by Wills Lifestyle, an apparel chain owned by International Trade Commission Limited, to promote Wills Sport Lifestyle brand of clothing. In 2006, she also acted in a play, Your Place or Mine by Darshan Jariwala.
She also did a play, Sock ’em With Honey, where she played a traditional Parsi woman from Pakistan, whose daughter falls in love with a Jew, prompting her first trip abroad.