The only child of the late Senevi B. Wickremasinghe and Shiranee Wickremasinghe (née Bandaratilaka) of Nawala, Koswatte. She graduated from King's College London with a BA (Hons) degree in English and went on to complete her MA degree in Women’s Studies at the University of Colombo. She had gained her PhD degree from the Institute of Education, University of London. In 1995 she married Ranil Wickremasinghe.