Sandeep Reddy Vanga was born in Warangal, Telangana, and completed his early schooling there before moving to Hyderabad for high school. He initially pursued a bachelor's degree at the SDM College of Physiotherapy in Dharwad, Karnataka, before discontinuing his studies to work as an assistant director on the 2010 Telugu film Kedi.

He made his directorial debut with Arjun Reddy (2017), which he also wrote, starring Vijay Deverakonda - a project he spent years developing and struggled to get financed until his brother Pranay Reddy Vanga's production house, Bhadrakali Pictures, backed it. The film became a critical and commercial success, earning him the Best Debut Director (Telugu) award at both the South Indian International Movie Awards and the Cinegoers Awards in 2018. He went on to direct its Hindi remake, Kabir Singh (2019), starring Shahid Kapoor, which became the highest-grossing A-rated Indian film of its time, followed by Animal (2023), starring Ranbir Kapoor, which became the 10th highest-grossing Indian film ever and earned him Filmfare nominations for Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Editor. He is married to Manisha Reddy, with two children. He presents Romanchakam (2026) under the Bhadrakali Pictures banner.