Mahrukh Tarapor is an Indian museum professional and art consultant, known for her scholarship in museum art, especially Islamic art. She was honoured by the Government of India, in 2013, by bestowing on her the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for her contributions to the field of art. She was born in 1946 in Mumbai, India. She secured a doctorate from Harvard University and started her career by joining Metropolitan Museum, New York, in 1983. She, over the course of a decade, rose through ranks to reach the level of the Associate Director for Exhibitions. During her stint at the Met Museum, she negotiated with the governments of Spain, Morocco and Egypt which led to the exhibition of ''Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain'', staged in Alhambra in Granada, the conservation of ''Minbar from the Kutubiyya Mosque'' at the Badic Palace, Marrakesh and the setting up of exhibition galleries at the Saint Catherine's Monastery, Sinai. She is also credited with efforts to raise loans for many intercultural exhibitions such as the ''Glory of Byzantium'' (1997), ''Byzantium: Faith and Power''(2004), ''Art of the First Cities'' (2003) and ''Beyond Babylon'' (2009).

Dr. Tarapor was promoted as the Director, International Affairs, at the Met's international affairs office at Geneva, in 2006, and worked in that capacity till 2009, when she retired after 25 years of service to continue her career as a consultant. During this period, she was in regular touch with the governments of many European countries, the Middle East, Australia and Asia, for the exchange and dissemination of information.