Rossella Cappadone was born in 1989 into a family of musicians and music lovers in Bologna. ​ From her childhood, jazz improvisation formed a large part of her musical upbringing. Already at the age of 12, she had begun studying viola and violin at the Conservatorio G. Rossini di Pesaro before later focusing on jazz vocal studies at the Conservatorio G.B. Martini di Bologna. ​ As the winning finalist of the Massimo Urbani Prize at the age of just 17, Rossella was the recipient of a singing scholarship at the Berklee Summer School in Umbria. Other subsequent awards include the 2009 Hengel Gualdi Jazz Award in Bologna and first prize in the national competition "Chicco Bettinardi" of the city of Piancenza in 2014.