T. R. Omana was born as eldest among five children to T R Gopala Pillai, Timber merchant and P K Meenakshiamma, a housewife in Alappuzha.
[1] She had education till Intermediate (pre university degree) which she did at Sanatana Dharma College, Alappuzha.
[citation needed] Her family shifted to Chennai when her father had a big loss in business and to fulfill her dream of becoming actress.
In 1968, she acted in the first full-length comedy in Malayalam cinema Viruthan Shanku directed by P. Venu.
She has also dubbed for Lilly Chakravarthy, Waheeda Rehman, Srividya, Lakshmi, Shuba etc.