Cat Chapman grew up in rural Waikato and moved to Auckland as a teenager. She gained a Bachelor of Design majoring in Photography and after a brief stint as a wedding photographer and an English teacher in Japan, she worked for a number of years at a design company.

In 2010 she attended a night course in children's illustration which was shortly followed by a contract for her first book from Walker Books Australia. She currently works full-time chasing after her young son and illustrating books. Cat enjoys working quickly with ink, pen and water colour, and enjoys creating characters that are full of movement, humour and personality.