E. Gayathri was born on 9 November 1959 to Kamala Aswathama, a veena vidushi, and to G. Aswathama, a film music director in the Telugu film industry [REF].
Gayathri began her career at the age of 9 when Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Triplicane invited her to perform in their Saint Thyagaraja Festival in 1968.