Ruby Bhatia was born on November 1, 1973, in Ajax, Ontario, Canada, to parents Harbans and Premlata Bhatia. At the age of three, she was adopted by her uncle and aunt, Prem Krishan and Saroj Bhatia. She was raised in Ajax, a suburb of Toronto, where she attended Archbishop Denis O'Connor Catholic High School. Bhatia studied various dance forms, including ballet, tap, jazz, and modern dance, at the Toronto branch of the Royal Academy of Dance, London. In 1993, she won the Miss India Canada pageant, which led her to move to India in 1994 to participate in Femina Miss India. She was first married to singer Nitin Bali for three years before their divorce in 1999. In December 2009, she married Ajit S. Dutta.