[1][2] Corea was born in Araliyagaha Walauwa in Bandaragama; she was the fourth of five children of Don Bernard Wijesinghe Kannanagara and Beatrice Wijewardana Jayasekara.
[2] She attended Visakha Vidyalaya in Colombo and the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya.
[2] After graduating from university, she taught at Visakha Vidyalaya for a short time, then joined the Colombo Public Library as deputy librarian in 1950.
[1] In 1961 Corea was appointed Chief Librarian of Colombo Public Library in 1961, a position she held for 27 years.
[2] Corea also helped establish the Sri Lanka Library Association, and served as its president.