Born on April 3rd, 1937, in Rawalpindi, Vinita spent the first seven years of her life in Kashmir, where her parents of Hindu-English descent resided. She then moved to various hill-station schools for her education.
In November 1954, Vini arrived in Bombay, having completed her Senior Cambridge in Bangalore. Prior to her move, she was an active member of the Bangalore Amateur Dramatic Society (B.A.D.S.),where she appeared in plays like Tagore's "Sacrifice" and J. B. Priestley's productions.
Guru Dutt first spotted Vinita in Bangalore, and impressed by her looks and personality, he offered her a film contract. He took some photographs of her back to Bombay and later wrote to her, proposing a role. Although the terms were not favorable, Vini and her mother soon forgot about the opportunity.
In Bombay, Vinita met Anwar Hussein, an old family friend, who introduced her to Chandulal Shah. Shah offered her a small role in his film "Oot Patang," which she accepted.
While working on "Oot Patang," Vinita visited the Mehboob Studios, where she ran into Guru Dutt again. This time, he offered her the role of Julie, an Anglo-Indian office girl, in his film "Mr. & Mrs. 55." Vinita accepted the role and her screen name became Yasmin.
Yasmin's performance in "Mr. & Mrs. 55" received critical acclaim, with critics praising her confidence, ease, and aplomb. She even managed to steal scenes from the seasoned comedian Johnny Walker.
At the Mehboob Studios, Yasmin met Zul Vellani, who asked her to play Desdemona in a Theatre Group's open-air presentation of "Othello." This led to her next film contract indirectly.
Alex D'Arcy, a Hollywood actor, was impressed by Yasmin during a meeting at the Mehboob Studios. She landed the role of Rukhmini in "Bombay Flight 417" after a successful film test, during which she was made up by her future husband, Jimmy Vining. The couple soon got married.
