She was the illegitimate daughter of Maria Herculana da Silva e Veiga, a schoolgirl, and of the jurist, politician and academic, António Correia Caldeira (1815 - 1876), who was a nephew and heir of the Portuguese cardinal, Francisco de São Luís.

Much admired by other poets she was even presented with a pen portrait by the noted artist Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro.

A notable reading was during the Camões Centenary celebrations, in 1880, when she recited poetry at the former Teatro Académico de Coimbra, presenting her work entitled Pátria.

She contributed poems and other works to several magazines, including Ave Azul (1899-1900),[5] A Mulher (1879),[6] Ribaltas e Gambiarras (1881),[7] and A Semana de Lisboa (1893-1895) as well as in the weekly Azulejos (1907-1909).

In 2003, Coimbra City Council published her complete works in a collection entitled Amélia Janny: Miscelânea Poética.