[1] Arnauth was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in October 1974, and her career began in 1995 when she was invited by João Braga to participate in a concert at S. Luis's Theater.
She released her debut album in 1999, which won the award for Best Upcoming Voice from the weekly magazine Blitz.
[citation needed] She performed concerts in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Italy, as well as at the Centro Cultural de Belém in Lisbon.
Her second album, Esta Voz Que Me Atravessa (English: This voice that goes through me) was released in 2001, produced by Amélia Muge and José Martins.
Andreas Dorschel praised the album, writing that: "capable of the tenderest nuances of voice, [Mafalda Arnauth] ingeniously counterbalances them with a roughness that calls to mind fado's subcultural origins".