Sirimavo Bandaranaike was born on 17 April 1916, as Sirimavo Ratwatte. Her family was part of the aristocracy. She was a Buddhist, but went to school at a convent in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where she was taught by Roman Catholic nuns. In 1940, she married Solomon Bandaranaike, who was a member of parliament at the time. He became prime minister in 1956 as the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). Sirimavo and Solomon had three children, Chandrika, Sunethra and Anura.