Athalia Nelson Nakamarra was born in Alice Springs in 1999. Athalia Nelson Nakamarra and her three sisters Narelle, Shanna and Sharlene grew up in Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community 290km north-west of Alice Springs in Australia's Northern Territory. She attended Yirara College, an Aboriginal boarding school in Alice Springs, and graduated before returning home.

In 2016, Athalia Nelson Nakamarra began painting at the Yuendumu Art Centre. She learned to paint at school, but also by watching her mother: Patricia Spencer Nungarrayi. Athalia Nelson Nakamarra particularly enjoys painting stories that relate directly to the birds that inhabit her land. She uses form and an unrestricted palette to depict contemporary images of birds and animals, capturing images between figuration and abstraction.

Athalia Nelson Nakamarra lives with her partner and has a son born in 2016.