Malaon was born with the name Pudjiastuti Suratno on 1 December 1939 to Suratno Sastroamidjojo, a Javanese civil servant, and his wife. She was the sixth of ten children born to the couple. At the age of three, she became interested in dancing after watching traditional gamelan and dance performances at the home of a family friend. As her father was restationed, the family often moved around Java. On 17 August 1950, during Independence Day celebrations, she performed for President Sukarno at the presidential palace; she was also a cultural ambassador to Japan, China, and the Soviet Union. She was enrolled in a dance school, but later dropped out.