Actor, director and playwright, Saoli Mitra is the only child of legendary theatre artistes Sombhu Mitra and Tripti Mitra. Born in Kolkata in the late 1940s, she completed her post graduate studies in Theatre from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. Inspired by her accomplished parents, she started acting from a young age. She was a child artiste in many Bohurupee productions. She also acted in the movie Jukti Takko Ar Gappo, written and directed by Ritwik Ghatak in 1974.

Saoli Mitra runs her own theatre group, Pancham Vaidic, noted for productions that reflect on contemporary intellectual debates. Nathabati Anathabat and Katha Amritasaman are some of the most successful plays she has written and directed.

She received the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 2003.