She was born in the village of Maslennikovo in Tutayevsky District, in central Russia. She went to school in 1945 at the age 8; however, she left school in 1953 and continued her education by correspondence courses.
She became interested in parachuting from a young age, and trained in skydiving at the local Aeroclub, making her first jump at age 22 on 21 May 1959; at the time, she was employed as a textile worker in a local factory. It was her expertise in skydiving that led to her selection as a cosmonaut. In 1961, she became Secretary of the local Komsomol (Young Communist League) and later joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
In order to join the Cosmonaut Corps, Tereshkova was honorarily inducted into the Soviet Air Force and thus she also became the first civilian to fly in space.