Woods was born about 1935. She was born close to Kaḻayapiṯi, a rock hole in the Great Victoria Desert of South Australia. She grew up living a traditional, nomadic way of life in the bush with her family, before any contact with Euro-Australian society. They often camped at Kaḻayapiṯi, where Woods and the other girls would gather bushfood together. She learned to carve basic tools and decorative objects, and to burn traditional patterns into the wood (this is called ""). She also learned to spin hair string on a hand-spun spindle and weave head rings and ceremonial belts from hair and feathers.