Birgitta Sif was born in Reykjavik, Iceland, and lived in and around Scandanavia and America while growing up. She completed her BFA from Cornell University and worked as a graphic designer in New York before deciding to enrol on Anglia Ruskin's world-renowned Children's Book Illustration MA course in Cambridge. Her debut picture book, Oliver, won the Icelandic Dimmalimm Prize and was endorsed by Amnesty.