Penny Mackieson was born in Melbourne in 1963. Placed with her adoptive family as a newborn, she was raised in the Buchan district of eastern Victoria. Penny completed Bachelor (1983) and Master's (1989) degrees in Social Work at Melbourne University, and has since worked primarily in the children and family services sector, including child protection and intercountry adoption. For much of her career, Penny was employed by the Victorian government. After 12 years in intercountry adoption, Penny resigned at the end of 2013, dismayed by the re-popularization of adoption and popularization of overseas anonymous donor IVF and commercial surrogacy practices. Penny co-wrote her first nonfiction book, Real Women Love Footy published in 2003, with another friend passionate about football.