Meera Syal was born and brought up in Essington, a Staffordshire mining village five miles north-east of the centre of Wolverhampton. She portrayed her childhood experiences in her best-selling novel 'Anita and Me'.

Following a Grammar School education, Meera Syal studied English and Drama at Manchester University. Her play One of Us, won the National Student Drama Award. She became an actress, joining the Royal Court Theatre. The BBC commissioned her to write a short series on marriage from different views and this was called My Sister Wife.

She wrote the screenplay for Bhaji on the Beach which was the first British feature film written and directed by an Asian woman. It was widely praised but aroused some criticism from Asian community leaders because of its portrayal of the behaviour of Asian men (especially towards women). It is now used in schools and colleges in studying violence against women and inter-racial relationships. The film received an Evening Standard nomination for Best Screenplay.

A more recent notable success has been Goodness Gracious Me a television comedy series which she co-wrote as well as starred in. Anita and Me won a Betty Trask Award in 1996 and was short listed for the Guardian Fiction Prize. Meera Syal was awarded an MBE in 1997. In April 2000 she won the 'Media Personality of the Year' award in the Commission for Racial Equality's annual 'Race in the Media Awards'.