Yade was born in Ouakam, Dakar, Senegal. She comes from an educated, upper-middle-class, Lebou family. Her mother, Aminata Kandji, was a professor and her father, Djibril Yade, also a professor, was the personal secretary of Senegalese President Léopold Sédar Senghor and a diplomat. She moved to France with the rest of her family at the age of eight. After her father left the country when she was fourteen, she moved into a council flat in Colombes with her mother and three sisters. She was educated in Catholic schools and then at the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris, where she graduated in 2000.

Yade worked at the Paris city hall and the National Assembly. She also worked for The Greens. She later became an administrator in the Senate in 2002. She joined the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) political party in 2005 and became National Secretary in charge of Francophonie in 2006. She credits Nicolas Sarkozy’s charisma with making her want to join the UMP.

In May 2007, she was appointed as Secretary of State for Human Rights under the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Bernard Kouchner. She denounced Muammar Gaddafi’s state visit to France in 2008 due to the track record of his human rights abuse.

In November 2008, Yade was rumoured to be Nicolas Sarkozy’s favorite choice for replacing Jean-Pierre Jouyet as Secretary of State for European Affairs, and was also privately asked to lead one of the UMP lists for the 2009 European Parliament elections. However, on 7 December, she declined to run for a seat in the European Parliament and declared herself “more interested in national mandate”. On 9 December, Le Monde reported that Nicolas Sarkozy was “deeply disappointed” by her attitude and that she had “ruined all her chances” to succeed Jouyet. The following day, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, in an interview with Le Parisien, said he regretted his suggestion to appoint a Secretary of State for Human Rights, although he noted that Yade had “done, with talent, what she could do”. She had at the time the highest approval rating in the French government, with over 70%.

As Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Human Rights of France, Yade met with several LGBT organizations on the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia in 2008 and announced to the organizations that henceforth the government officially recognized that day. She announced that she would appeal to the United Nations for the universal decriminalization of homosexuality, and asked, “How can we tolerate the fact that people are stoned, hanged, decapitated and tortured only because of their sexual orientation?” When asked about the issue of same-sex marriage in 2009, she replied that it was not up to her to settle the question for society.

She was moved to the post of Secretary of State for Sports on 24 June 2009. Some interpreted this as a demotion in connection with Sarkozy’s disapproval of her decision to not stand in the European elections. In 2010, she criticised the French national football team for staying in expensive hotels during the 2008–2012 global recession.

In 2009, she said that she was not opposed to ban on burqas in France. Rama believes that this ban should be decided “as a defense of secularism and the dignity of women” and calls on Muslims to “leave the literal text behind, and adjust to the times”. In 2010, she called for a referendum on banning the full veil burqas in France, in order to circumvent any legal obstacles.

She was appointed as French Ambassador to the UNESCO in December 2010. By April 2011, it was rumoured that she would be fired. She quit her job in June 2011.

When she became Secretary of State for Sports, she fought against homophobia in sports and participated in the third FARE Conference Against Homophobia in Paris in 2011.

In 2012, she left the UMP, joined the Radical Party and supported Jean-Louis Borloo in the presidential elections until he decided not to run. She later supported Nicolas Sarkozy, but joined the New Centre. She serves as President of the Allons Enfants! think tank.

She ran and lost in the 2012 parliamentary elections for the National Assembly of France. She now works for a human resources firm based in Paris, Cursus Management.

In a June 2011 interview she said she would have voted for same-sex marriage if she had been in the National Assembly. In a 2012 interview with Le Parisien, she said, “To societal issues like this or gay marriage, it is legitimate to propose a referendum. We’ll see if the left will have the courage to give voice to the people.” She said in 2013 interview that her support for same-sex marriage was consistent with her fight on equal rights and claimed that she had been designated as the most gay-friendly member of the government. On 1 February Rama Yade had signed with MP Yves Jégo, Jean-Christophe Lagarde, Senator Chantal Jouanno, an article in Le Monde in favor of gay marriage in the name of equality.

In April 2013, she was convicted for libeling and slandering Manuel Aeschlimann.

In September 2013, she was sentenced to pay a 2000 euro fine and 4000 euros in damages for libeling her political rival Philippe Sarre.

In January 2014, she was again convicted for slandering Jean-Marie Le Pen and his daughter Marine Le Pen.