The youngest of five siblings born into an affluent Mexican family, Thalia's earliest performance training took place in the form of classical ballet lessons. Inspired by her sister's career as an actress, she decided to pursue her own stardom at a very young age, enrolling in the Instituto Mexicano de Musica to study piano at the age of eight and joining child act Din-Din the following year. A period with Vaselina began in 1984, after which she joined the teen pop group Timbiriche - initially, just in the role of backup singer, but before long taking over the lead position. As a member of Timbiriche she would record three albums and establish enormous popularity for the group (and herself) in Latin America. An acting career was also established at this time when Thalia was offered a role on Quinceñera, a Spanish-language soap opera directed towards the teen and pre-teen viewing audience. Minor parts on (earlier) La Pobre Señorita Limantour and Luz Y Sombra were also undertaken.

Internal squabbles brought an end to Timbiriche before the end of the 1980s and Thalia relocated to Los Angeles for a year, where she met producer Alfredo Díaz Ordaz. With Ordaz she recorded her eponymous 1989 debut, and would susequently collaborate with him on her next two releases Mundo de Cristal (1991) and Love (1992). Building on her new success as a solo artist, she took a job in Spain as a host of the variety show VIP de Noche. A resumption of her work in soap operas was also made in Spain, and consecutive involvement with the programs María Mercedes, Marimar, and María La Del Barrio throughout the mid-90s steadily increaded her popularity.