Riya Ray was born in India where she lived till the age of 15 before moving to the U.K. She started modeling at the age of 18 and was signed with Elite Model Management. Riya was one of the first Indian models to be the face of the global cosmetic brand Bobbi Brown ( Diwali campaign) .She has also worked with brands like Forevermark (directed by Tony Kaye) , Ulta Beauty, Sephora, L'Oreal Matrix, Nike, Target, Chevrolet, Budweiser, Flawless, Inspired Closets etc and editorials for Vogue,Elle,Marie Claire etc. Riya is reportedly the first Indian model to grace the cover of 'Time Out' magazine, Chicago.

She plays one of the leads in the Burmese film 'The Dark Cinema' which released in April 2019 in Myanmar and Singapore.She has acted in the American Independent film 'Loaded' directed by Chris Zonas starring Kumail Nanjiani ('The Big Sick' ) and also played the role of the U.S based Indian News Reporter in the Bollywood film Dhoom 3 Starring Aamir Khan .

She has also been featured in many American music videos - from Academy and Grammy winning singer Cher (Woman's World) to artists like Nicki Minaj feat David Guetta ('Where them girls at' ,Directed by Dave Meyers ), Fall Out boy (Irresistible ) to name a few.