Born into a family involved in regional politics, Larisa Shoigu initially chose a career in medicine, as did her younger sister.

She moved to Moscow in 1998, working at the central polyclinic of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, before entering politics in 2007 with her election to the State Duma for its 5th convocation that year.

[2] Larisa Shoigu studied at school No.1 in Kyzyl, and with her brother Sergei was also in a theatre group led by future People's Artist of Russia Nadezhda Krasnaya [ru].

[2][4] She studied for a time at the Novosibirsk correspondence mathematical school, but then enrolled in Tomsk Medical Institute in 1970, where she met her future husband, the surgeon Konstantin Yakubovich Flamenbaum, before graduating in 1977.

[2][3] She joined the United Russia party in 2005, and in 2007, just prior to entering politics, she changed her surname from her husband's, Flamenbaum, back to her maiden name.

[2] She was also a member of the audit commission of the Por-Bazhyn foundation, and paid for the publication of the book Mysterious Tuva by Sevian Weinstein.

[1] In May 2021, having secured 39,000 of the 42,000 votes, she became the top vote-getter in the United Russia primaries to stand for Tuva in the federal legislative election scheduled for September.

Prime Minister of Russia Mikhail Mishustin expressed his condolences, stating that she was "a bright politician, talented and warm-hearted person.

[13] She was buried in the Troyekurovskoye Cemetery on 12 June in a ceremony attended by many of her colleagues, including Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin.