Napanangka was born in Yuendumu. Her family was moved by truck to Lajamanu as part of the government welfare relocations in the mid 1950s. Her family stayed in Lajamanu from that time on. Napangangka began painting with ochre on people's bodies for ceremonies, taught by her mother and aunties. She began painting with acrylic on canvas after completing a Traditional Painting Course conducted by the TAFE unit in Lajamanu in 1986. Napanangka paints traditional stories of women's dreaming, black-footed rock wallabies (wakulyarri), bush vines (ngalyipi), bush mushrooms (jinti-parnta) and tomatoes (ngayiki), dancing sticks (karrparnu) and bush skirts (majardi) dreamings, which teach about the traditions of her country. She is a senior Law lady in Lajamanu and a member of the Kurdiji (Law) group that works with the local law court.