Born Mathangi Arulpragasam
18 July 1975 (age 41)
London Borough of Hounslow,
London, UK
and moved back to the UK at age 11. bytch

Her family voluntarily hopped into a revolution. BOOHOO.
Didn't have that luxury?
Arulpragasam entered the final year of primary school in the autumn of 1986 and quickly mastered the English language. Despite being the only Sri Lankan family in the area, the family were made welcome and
faced no racial abuse 
during their time on the estate.
[10][11]
While living in the United Kingdom and raising her children, her mother became a practicing Christian in 1990 and
worked as a commissioned seamstress for the Royal Family
for much of her career
[3] She worked from her home in
Tooting, which is at the south of London. Arulpragasam has had a difficult relationship with her father, due to his political activities in the 1980s and complete absence during much of her life. Prior to the release of the first album, which Arulpragasam had named after her father, Arular emailed her: "This is Dad. Change the title of your album. I'm really proud. Just read about you in the
Sri Lanka Times. Dad."
[
Maya chose not to change the album title

. Arulpragasam attended the
Ricards Lodge High School in
Wimbledon. After leaving school, she completed a degree in fine art, film, and video in June 2000 from London's
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.
[3] Her initial application to the school was rejected, but she was finally admitted and received a scholarship,

being told that she "had
chutzpah".
[13]