Manizha was born on 8 July 1991 in Dushanbe to parents Najiba Usmanova, a psychologist and clothing designer, and a father who worked as a doctor.

[2] Manizha's grandfather was Toji Usmon [tg; ru], a Tajik writer and journalist, with a monument dedicated to his honor in Khujand.

[4][5] Manizha changed her surname from Khamrayeva to Sangin in order to honor her grandmother, who was one of the first people who encouraged her to pursue music.

[22] After Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Manizha stated her opposition to the invasion, referring to the Ukrainian backgrounds of her soon-to-be husband and daughter-in-law.

In 2017, Manizha began posting unedited photos of herself with the hashtag #TheTraumaOfBeauty and captions discussing her struggles with her body image.

[31][32] At her concert on the roof of the Château de Fantomas in Moscow, Manizha took off her stage makeup and invited the public to join this manifesto.

As part of this project, she released a free mobile application called Silsila (in Persian - "thread") to help victims of domestic violence.

[32] The app allows users to quickly call for help in an emergency using the panic button and offers a list of the nearest crisis centers and shelters in which to hide.

In support of the campaign, together with the director Lado Quatania ("HypeProduction"), a video was released for the song "Mama" (Russian and English versions).

[36] On 24 February 2022, Manizha stated her opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine via an Instagram post, referring to her husband and sister-in-law's Ukrainian background.

[23] Her opposition to the war led to her facing a campaign to have her blacklisted, leading to several promoters cancelling her performances after government supporters began posting personal information of concert organizers.