Latha Walpola

Deshamanya Matharage Rita Genevieve Fernando, better known by her stage name Latha Walpola (ලතා වල්පොල), is a prominent Sri Lankan vocal artist. It was during when Walpola was a member of a church choir, that she began a career that led to her becoming one of Sri Lanka’s premier singers of her day. Today her fans often refer to her as “The Nightingale of Sri Lanka”

Personal life

Walpola was born on 11 November 1934  in Mt Lavinia Colombo, to Joseph Fernando and Elizabeth Muriel. She was one of five children. Her mother, who was a teacher, encouraged her daughter to become a vocal artist.
Walpola received her primary education at St. Anthony College in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, wherein she led the church choir.

She married Dharmadasa Walpola in 1959, later becoming known as Latha Walpola. A ceremonial wedding was held at Siri Kotha, Kollupitiya with a large gathering of guests and artists. The local police had to deploy extra men to control the massive crowd gathered outside Siri Kotha. The couple has four sons and one daughter. In the 1960s and early part of the 1970s, the couple became very popular.