Cattrall was born in Widnes, a town in north Cheshire, England. Her mother, Shane Cattrall, was a housewife; her father, Dennis Cattrall, was a construction worker. Cattrall has three siblings. When she was less than a year old, her family emigrated to Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada. When her grandmother became ill, she returned to England at the age of 11. During this time she took lessons at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).

Cattrall began her career at age 16 when she left home to live alone in New York City. There, she attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and upon her graduation signed a five-year movie deal with director Otto Preminger. A year later, Universal Studios bought out that contract and Cattrall became one of the last participants of Universal Contract Player System. During her time with Universal, she guest starred in numerous television programmes of varying style and genre. Her work in television paid off, and she quickly made the transition to cinema. She starred opposite Jack Lemmon in his Oscar-nominated movie Tribute in 1980. The following year, she starred in the critically acclaimed Ticket to Heaven.

In 1982, Cattrall played Miss Honeywell in Porky's, followed two years later with a role in the original Police Academy. During 1985, she starred in three movies: Turk 182, City Limits and Hold-Up. In 1987, her lead role in Mannequin proved a huge success with audiences. One of her most well-known film roles is that of Lieutenant Valeris in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Aside from her film work, Cattrall is also a stage and theatre actress, with performances in Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge and Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters. In 1997, she was cast in Sex and the City, Darren Star's series that was broadcast on HBO. As Samantha Jones, Cattrall gained international recognition. She capitalised on her success as Samantha by appearing in steamy television commercials promoting the short-lived Pepsi product Pepsi One. She also signed a publishing deal to write a book about sex with her third husband, Mark Levinson. In addition, she can be heard reading the poetry of Rupert Brooke on the CD Red Rose Music SACD Sampler Volume One.

Her film work continued during Sex and the City, when she starred as Caroline in Britney Spears' first film venture, Crossroads. Reports claim that Cattrall's high financial demands and a strained relationship with co-star Sarah Jessica Parker are responsible for the end of Sex and the City, but whatever the cause, Cattrall played Samantha for the last time in Spring 2004. In 2005 she appeared in the Disney picture Ice Princess, where she played the character of Tina Harwood the Hayden Panettiere and Trevor Blumas mom, and also portrayed Claire, a paralysed woman who wants to die, in the West End drama revival of Whose Life Is It Anyway. In early 2006 it was reported that Cattrall will soon join the cast of Desperate Housewives, playing Edie's (Nicollette Sheridan) wild sister.

Personal life