Gala Gordon was born in Bryanston. Her mother, Patricia MacTaggart, is a London-based interior designer and her father, Xavier Botana, is an Argentinian Artist who lives in Buenos Aires. Gala, named after Salvador Dalí’s wife, chose her mother’s maiden name as her surname. She attended Bryanston School, Dorset, and graduated in 2012 from London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she played lead roles in several stage productions such as The Seagull, Hamlet, Agamemnon and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.