Ruma Guha Thakurta was born on 3 November 1934 to Satyen Ghosh (Monty Ghosh) and singer Sati Devi who was a trained vocalist and Bijoya Ray's, wife of Satyajit Ray, elder sister's daughter. Ruma Guha Thakurta began as a dancer, actress and singer primarily associated with Bengali language films. She founded Calcutta Youth Choir in 1958 after her divorce. She got married to eminent singer, Kishore Kumar, in 1951.