Nasiba Zeynalova was born in Baku (then part of the Russian Empire, present-day capital of Azerbaijan), the daughter of merchant and stage actor Jahangir Zeynalov. The family fled to Iran just before the Azeri massacre of March 1918 committed by Bolshevik military units in Baku. Her father died during their trip back home in September 1918, via the Caspian Sea.