Cordero was born to a Macanese family of Portuguese-Chinese heritage at the Hospital Conde S. Januário in Macau in 1954.

She resorted to using identity cards from friends, because the legal working age in Hong Kong was 14.

Cordero married a widowed Filipino pianist and bandmate 22 years her senior when she was in her late teens.

Her eldest son Alfonso Bibi Cordero (Chinese: 高進一) is a member of the Hong Kong Hockey Team which won the bronze medal in the 2009 East Asian Games.

Offers of recording contracts, movie roles, and stage performances came after a string of hits which began with a tailor-made song written for her by director and songwriter Teddy Robin, titled "Sai Hei".