Adriana C. Ocampo Uria was born on January 5, 1955, in Barranquilla, Colombia. Her mother is Teresa Uria Ocampo, and her father is Victor Alberto Ocampo. Her family moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and then emigrated to Pasadena, California, in 1970, at the age of 14, where she was able to study physics and calculus. During high school, Ocampo was part of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) troop 509. In 1973, while a junior in high school, she got a summer job at the JPL, where she analyzed images sent by the Viking spacecraft. In 1980, Ocampo attained U.S. citizenship.
