Ruby is a member of the Pitjantjatjara nation. She was born about 1940, at a sacred site near Kata Ala, Western Australia. She grew up with her family in the bushland along the western side of the border with South Australia. Her family spent most of their time travelling between her father's homeland near Pukara and her mother's around Mantamaru. When Ruby was a teenager, they followed other Pitjantjatjara families to settle at Ernabella, far to the east. Ruby grew up and went to school at the mission there until she got married.