Swe Aye Myint was born on 13 February 1962 in Yangon, Myanmar to Myint Myint Khin, a top leading lady of Burmese cinema and a singer, and Khin Maung Nyunt, a lawyer.
May Sweet graduated from the Dagon 1 High School in 1978, and received a bachelor's degree in botany from Yangon University in 1982.