Ildikó Vitályos was born in 1935 in Dumbrăveni. Her childhood years were spent in Târgu Mureş, where she completed her elementary education at the Reformed Girls' School, and her high school studies at the Gymnasium for Girls. She has studied piano at the local Cultural Palace, therefore, Târgu Mureş can partially claim to have launched the career of one of the Great Ladies of the Transylvanian theatre.

She had begun her university studies in acting in Cluj-Napoca, however, since the Szentgyörgyi István Theatre Institute had moved to Târgu Mureş during her studies, she has received her degree from the latter. Fresh out of university, she has started her acting career at the Oradea State Theatre, nonetheless, her artistic journey was fulfilled in Cluj, where she was able to exhibit her talent and colorful individuality through a rich and beautiful career.
She started working at the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj in 1968, when she portrayed the role of Júlia in Gyula Illyés’ play Kegyenc (directed by József Szabó). Her most important roles on the Cluj stage are: Hilda in Sartre’s The Devil and the Good Lord (director Ottó Rappaport, 1969), Boriska in Jenő Heltai’s Tündérlaki lányok (director Béla Horváth, 1969), Annie in Ferenc Molnár’s Játék a kastélyban (director Ottó Rappaport, 1969), Lady Bracknell in Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest (director Béla Horváth, 1970), Raymonde in Georges Feydeau’s A Flea in Her Ear (director Liviu Ciulei, 1971), Böske in Tibor Bálint’s Sánta angyalok utcája (director József Szabó, 1972), Jenny in Edward Albee’s Everything in the Garden (director Ottó Rappaport, 1972), Lidike in Jókai-Méhes’ A nagyenyedi két fűzfa (director Béla Horváth, 1975), Málcsi in Zsigmond Móricz’s Nem élhetek muzsikaszó nélkül (director György Harag, 1980), Elena in Cublesan’s Seduction (director Aurel Manea, 1983), Irma in Gábor Dehel’s The Innocent (director Gábor Tompa, 1984), Amandine in Feydeau's  Chat en poche (director Gábor Tompa, 1984), Chiriţa in Vasile Alecsandri’s Chiriţa în Iaşi (director Ildikó Kovács, 1987), Bernarda in Federico García Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba (director Miklós Tompa, 1990), with her final role being Máli néni in Milán Füst’s Máli néni (director Árpád Árkosi, 1994). She retired in 1995. In the same year, she was awarded the Szentgyörgyi István Prize.

The Transylvanian theatrical profession became poorer with her departure.

May she rest in peace.