Raymond Damadian was born on 16 March 1936 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He was married to Donna Terry. He died on 3 August 2022 in Woodbury, New York, USA.
As a child he studied violin at the Juilliard School. He decided to go into medicine after winning a scholarship to the University of Wisconsin. He received a medical degree from New York's Albert Einstein College of Medicine.