Joanne Fitzgerald was born in Montreal and lived there throughout her youth. Growing up her passion for drawing infiltrated her whole life. Her talent often caused minor problems at school as it distracted her from her other subjects. She attended Mount Allison University, New Brunswick, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts. She was asked to illustrate her first of many books after illustrating a piece for Chickadee. She currently lives in Georgetown, Ontario with her husband and daughter.