She grew up in Toronto, is the daughter of a Bengali father and a Polish mother.
Ray started her modeling career at age 16 and was the "brand ambassador" for Lakme cosmetics in India. She made numerous advertisements for various Indian companies before becoming involved in films.
She began her acting career with the film Kasoor in 2001 opposite Aftab Shivdasani. Ray then went to "Tollywood" in 2002 and appeared in Takkari Donga with Mahesh Babu. She subsequently starred as the female lead of Canadian director Deepa Mehta's romantic Indo-Canadian romp, Bollywood/Hollywood(2002). In 2005, she worked again with Mehta in the latter's most recent film, Water. The film tells the story of a widow, played by Ray, who lives in a Varanasi ashram. Ray starred opposite John Abraham.
Ray has said that she desires to be a novelist with a base in Paris. She is also hosting "Beauty Mantra" a television show on the Indian channel Zee TV.