Duchess Amalia Maria Frederica was born on 21 December 1818 in Oldenburg, capital of the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg. She was the first child of Duke Paul Frederick Augustus of Oldenburg (later Grand Duke of Oldenburg) and his first wife, Princess Adelheid of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym. She was less than two years old when her mother died, on 13 September 1820.

On 22 December 1836, Duchess Amalia of Oldenburg married King Otto of Greece in Oldenburg. Born as the second son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Prince Otto of Bavaria had been appointed king of the newly created Kingdom of Greece in 1833.

When she arrived in Greece as a queen in 1837, she had an immediate impact on social life and fashion. She realized that her attire ought to emulate that of her new people, and so she created a romantic folksy court dress, which became a national Greek costume still known as the Amalía dress. It follows the Biedermeier style, with a loose-fitting, white cotton or silk shirt, often decorated with lace at the neck and cuffs, over which a richly embroidered jacket or vest is worn, usually of dark blue or claret velvet. The skirt was ankle-length, unpressed-pleated silk, the color usually azure. It was completed with a soft cap or fez with a single, long, golden silk tassel, traditionally worn by married women, or with the kalpaki (a toque) of the unmarried woman, and sometimes with a black veil for church. This dress became the usual attire of all Christian townswomen in both Ottoman Empire-occupied and liberated Balkan lands as far north as Belgrade.

It has been suggested that the King would not have been overthrown had Amalia borne an heir, as succession was also a major unresolved question at the time of uprising. It is also true, however, that the Constitution of 1843 made provision for his succession by his two younger brothers and their descendants.

In February 1861, a university student named Aristeidis Dosios (son of Politician Konstantinos Dosios) unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate the Queen. He was sentenced to death, but the Queen intervened, and he was pardoned and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was hailed as a hero for his attempt by certain factions, but the attempt also provoked among the people spontaneous feelings of sympathy towards the royal couple.

King Otto died in 1867. Queen Amalia survived her husband by almost eight years and died in Bamberg on 20 May 1875. She was buried beside the king at the Theatinerkirche in Munich.