Tina Beattie was born in 1955 in Lusaka, Zambia, to parents who had emigrated from post-war Scotland. After living in Kenya and Zimbabwe, she moved to Bristol in the UK in 1988 with her husband Dave and four small children. When her youngest child started school in 1991 she fulfilled her ambition to go to University, doing a degree in Theology and Religious Studies and then a PhD at the University of Bristol. Tina had an academic post at the University of Roehampton in London from 2002 to 2020, when she left her position as Professor of Catholic Studies to concentrate full-time on writing. In addition to her academic publications, Tina has written several popular books and is a frequent contributor to the media, including Radio 4's Thought for the Day.
