Zubeida was born in Surat as a
Muslim princess to Sachin and Fatima Begum. She started her career at Kohinoor at the age of 12. Her early career was dominated by her beautiful sister Sultana, who was a better known star in the 20s. Her second sister, Shehzadi also was a teenage actress.

She came to be identified with
courtesan roles in big Urdu, stage-
derived costume pictures, a tradition
extended by Meena Kumari and developed the tragic dsimension of her image in several of Naval Gandhi's socials including the prestigious Tagore adaptation Balidan.

In 1934 she launched Mahalakshmi Cinetone. By the late 30s she had retired, appearing in the rare film later.