Nisha Ayub was born in Malacca, Malaysia, on April 5, 1979. She is of mixed maternal Indian, Ceylonese and paternal Malay descent. Nisha has memories of when she was a child and used to wear a “selendang” (shawl) while dancing to Bollywood songs. Nisha was raised by her mother Christian family after her father's death when she was six years old. Her mother is a Muslim convert. At nine years old, Nisha participated in a fancy dress competition, as a ballerina wearing a black dress and a wig. At the time, she realized that was the real Nisha.
