Sherawat was born Reema Lamba in Rohtak, Haryana to a Jat family. Mallika was born in the family of Seth Chhaju Ram, a leading Jat philanthropist. She was born on October 24. She adopted the screen name of "Mallika", meaning "empress".
Sherawat has been known for expressing her opinions in public, as well for the reaction to some of her statements