Boneva was born in 1936 and she received her master's degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia.

[1] She has won awards from the Union of Bulgarian Artists, from the government of Sofia, from the Institut Culturel de Solenzara in Paris, a silver medal from the French Academy of Fine Arts.

Since 1981 she has been a corresponding member of the European Academy of Sciences, Art, and Literature, with head office in Paris.

She was selected as artist-in-residence by the Griffis Art center in New London, CT, USA in 1994–1995.

Boneva has three paintings in the collection of Newnham College, Cambridge.