Vigdís Grímsdóttir was born in Reykjavík on August 15th 1953. She graduated from the Iceland University of Education with a Teaching Diploma in 1973, received a BA-degree in Icelandic Studies and Library and Information Science from the University of Iceland in 1978, and a degree in Education from the Iceland University of Education in 1982. She was a candidate of Icelandic literature at the University of Iceland 1984-85. Grímsdóttir worked as an elementary- and college teacher in Reykjavík and Hafnarfjörður until 1990 but has since then focused almost exclusively on writing. Her first book, the short story collection Tíu myndir úr lífi þínu (Ten Pictures from Your Life), appeared in 1983 and since then she has published collections of poetry, another collection of short stories, and novels, including one children's book. Vigdís has received various recognitions for her work and her books have been translated into other languages. Adaptations for theatre have been made of two of her novels and been performed both in Iceland and in Sweden. In 2004 a movie by Hilmar Oddsson, based on her novel Kaldaljós (Cold Light) premiered.