Sue was born and brought up in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Her passion for natural history was nurtured by her father, a teacher, amateur botanist and artist who used to take her on expeditions locating, identifying and collecting botanical specimens. Sue has travelled extensively and worked on illustrated books for the Agricultural and Forestry departments in the Solomon Islands, Nepal and Vanuatu. She has also produced over 50 natural history stamp designs for several countries in the Pacific, including New Zealand.