Siddaramaiah was born on August 3, 1947, in a remote village called Siddaramanahundi in Mysore District. He belongs to the Kuruba Gowda community.
He has five siblings and he is the second among them. Siddaramaiah is married to Parvathi, and together the couple has two sons.
Siddaramaiah did not go to school until he was 10, but he got his B.Sc. and LL.B. degree from Mysore University.