Shriya Saran was born in Haridwar and most of her life in a small colony at the foothills of the Shivalik range. Her father, Pushpendra Saran worked for the state-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited while her mother, Neeraja Saran was a chemistry teacher at the Delhi Public School, which Saran had attended. Her elder brother, Abhiroop Saran is four years older than her and currently works with an advertising firm, FCB Ulka, in Mumbai. He is married to Aarti, who Saran describes her relationship with her "like a house on fire".

As a kid, Saran claims to have "pooled her pocket money that she was given over a period of time and give it to a blind school". When Shriya was 17, her family moved to Delhi because she was passionate to learn kathak from eminent guru, Shovana Narayan. In 2005, Saran was rumoured to be set to get married to her long term boyfriend, Rajiv Madhavan, which she later denied claiming the pair were "only close friends". However, in late December 2007, it became clear that Saran's relationship with her co-star Jesse Metcalfe has become more romantic. Neither of the pair have reported to the media about the link.