Sharon Olds was born in 1942 in San Fransisco, California. She studied at Stanford and Columbia Universities, the latter where she earned her Ph.D.

Her first collection of poems, Satan Says was published in 1980. Her poetry is characterised by its sensitive and perceptive portrayals of intimate family life as well as global events. Physical descriptions are honest, vivid and often erotic, though they have also been criticised for edging towards sensationalism and even pornography.

Aong the awards she has won are the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award.