Neela Ramgopal was born on 25 May 1935, in Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu into a Brahmin Iyer family.

[4] She started studying Carnatic music with lessons from Sadagopalachari in Kumbakonam and later under N. M. Narayanan, T. K. Rangachary and M. L.

[9] Some of her recorded albums includedTamizh Inbam, Rama Upasana and Narayana Enniro.

[7] She was also noted to be an early adopter of technology offering her training lessons online.

[3] She was known to have been a polyglot with works in Tamil, Kannada, and English, and was referred to as Neela Maami by her students.