Her parents, Ilsa Milagros Sánchez Rodríguez and José Luis Almodóvar Hernández, divorced when she was one year old.

Her maternal grandmother, Elia, was a sculptor, painter, and poet who fueled Almodóvar's artistic interests, taking her to plays and concerts from an early age.

Soon after, she received a cassette of songs by Rubén Blades and Celia Cruz as a Christmas gift from her grandmother and discovered that she had a natural ability for tropical music, salsa, and merengue.

She also started listening to Memphis musicians such as Al Green, Otis Redding, and The Staple Singers, and she befriended record producer Willie Mitchell's grandchildren, who attended Houston High School with her in Germantown, Tennessee.

She worked for a short time as a translator and assistant for the Memphis City Council as she briefly considered a career in politics.

At sixteen, Almodóvar started performing around Memphis[2] with bands from various genres, including rock, blues, jazz, and gospel.

She traveled all over the island, listening to music, experimenting with sounds, and learning how to sing and dance salsa.

"La Chica de San Juan" became the title track of her 2003 album Rumba's SalsaSoul Delight.

The album reflected a mixture of tropical and soul rhythms, and employed a Spanglish style of language that emerged with the influx of Latinos to the United States.

In Miami, Almodóvar became a sought-after performer, opening for artists like Tommy Olivencia and La Sonora Ponceña.

Her first single in Miami, "Yo Soy La Rumba", was produced by her musical director Ramses Araya.

In 2014, Melina Almodóvar and her production partner Cristina Moinelo entered into a collaboration with the local Community Redevelopment Agency to hold a regular concert series in Hollywood, Florida dedicated to Salsa Music.