Aditi Rao Hydari was born on 28 October into two royal lineages, that of Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari and J. Rameshwar Rao of erstwhile Raja of Wanaparthy family. She is the great granddaughter of Akbar Hydari and the grand niece of Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari, former Governor of Assam.Filmmaker Kiran Rao is her maternal first cousin. Her maternal grandparents are Raja J Rameshwar Rao, who headed the administration of Wanaparthi state during its day, and Shanta Rameshwar Rao a much respected educationalist in the city of Hyderabad and the chairperson of publishing house Orient Blackswan. Her mother has Mangalorean Konkani roots.Aditi started learning Bharatanatyam at age six and became a disciple of acclaimed dancer Leela Samson. She did her schooling at Rishi Valley School, Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh and graduated from Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi