Cathy Curtis is the author of four biographies: A Splendid Intelligence: The Life of Elizabeth Hardwick (W. W. Norton, 2021); Alive Still: Nell Blaine, American Painter (Oxford University Press, 2019); A Generous Vision: The Creative Life of Elaine de Kooning (Oxford University Press, 2017); and Restless Ambition: Grace Hartigan, Painter (Oxford University Press, 2015). Curtis's new biography, forthcoming from W. W. Norton, is Edna O'Brien: The Passionate Life of a Fearless Irish Writer.

A former staff writer at the Los Angeles Times, she majored in philosophy at Smith College and has a master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Curtis is a past president of Biographers International Organization (BIO).