Her father was a Malay of Javanese descent, whose great-grandfather had settled in Malaya after surviving a shipwreck en route to Java from a pilgrimage in Mecca.

[5][6] That same year, Sheila made her acting debut in the film Ali Setan, directed by Jins Shamsuddin, where she played Tipah alongside Azmil Mustapha and Ogy Ahmad Daud.

[7] Her second album, Emosi (1986), marked a significant turning point in her career, introducing a unique blend of jazz and R&B that was groundbreaking and unheard of for the Malaysian music scene at the time.

[9][10] At the time, Indonesia had a burgeoning music scene with the rise of Pop kreatif, a genre that flourished amid the increasing liberalization of the creative industry.

[11] Sheila Majid's blend of jazz, R&B, and pop perfectly aligned with the sound and sensibilities with the genre and thus resonated strongly with the emerging tastes of Indonesian audiences.

[9][10] Popularity in Indonesia from the 'Sinaran' single alone has boosted Sheila from a regional oddity to an international name as ‘Sinaran’ became the first Malay song to top the charts on Radio Sapporo station, in Tokyo.