Vigdís Grímsdóttir was born in Reykjavík on August 15, 1953.

She graduated from the Icelandic College of Education (Kennaraskóli Íslands) in 1973, received a BA in Icelandic and Library Science from the University of Iceland in 1978, and completed a degree in education and pedagogy from the Iceland University of Education in 1982. She also pursued candidate-level studies in Icelandic literature at the University of Iceland from 1984 to 1985.

Vigdís worked as a teacher in primary and secondary schools in Reykjavík and Hafnarfjörður until 1990, after which she devoted herself almost entirely to writing.

Her first book, the short story collection Tíu myndir úr lífi þínu (Ten Images from Your Life), was published in 1983. Since then, she has published poetry collections, another short story collection, and several novels, including one children’s book.

Stage adaptations of two of her novels have been produced in Iceland and Sweden. On New Year’s Day 2004, the film Kaldaljós (Cold Light), directed by Hilmár Oddsson, premiered; it is based on Vigdís’s novel of the same name from 1987.