[2] Ponarovskaya was born on 12 March 1953 in Leningrad, to Vitaliy Borisovich Ponarovsky and Nina Nikolayevna (née Arnoldi), the latter of German descent.

In September 1971 she enrolled in the Conservatory and, while still a student, in 1971-1976 performed as a singer with the pop band Poyushchiye Gitary (The Singing Guitars).

In the 1980s she appeared in several films and various musical TV programs, including Song of the Year, Morning Mail, Little Blue Light, Around the Laughter, performing regularly at the official Militia Day concert, on 10 November.

In 1988, in the central hall of the Kremlin "Russia", she held her first solo concert in Moscow, titled "From the Start".

Around this time she retired from the music scene and moved to Estonia, where she spent most of the 2010s, but returned for two massive concert shows in Saint Petersburg (in 2010 and 2014) and the NTV-organized benefit in 2011.