Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Rebecca graduated from the University of Malaya in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English Literature. She received a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Administration from the National Institute of Public Administration (āINTANā), Malaysia in 1981. She also has an M.S. (Counselling) from Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (now known as Universiti Putra Malaysia) in 1992. Subsequently, Tan Sri Dr. Rebecca obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Georgia, Athens in 2000.
Tan Sri Dr. Rebecca began her career in the Malaysian Administrative and Diplomatic Service in 1981 and served in various capacities in the then Ministry of Trade and Industry. In the course of her civil service career, she had a brief stint as the Chief Administration and Procurement Officer of the ASEAN Plant Quarantine and Training Centre and contributed to human capital development at INTAN.