 Nagarathnamma was born in 1926 in a family with moderate financial means, in Mysore, in the South Indian state of Karnataka.She started working in professional theatre at the age of 12, working with such troupes as Sri Chamundeshwari Nataka Sabha, Gubbi Company run by Gubbi Veeranna, Mitra Mandali of Hirannaiah and HLN Simha.Later, in 1958, Nagarathnamma established "Stree Nataka Mandali", reported to be the first all-women theatre troupe from Karnataka where she performed as an actor and was the director of their plays.