Born 5 December 1915 in Armadale, Stonnington City, Victoria, Thea Goodwin was a friend of poet Gwen Harwood. She was the recipient of numerous "Sappho" cards created by Gwen Harwood. She studied French language at the University of Tasmania in the early 1950s and resided in South Hobart in the 1960s. She also worked for the English Department at the University of Tasmania for a period after being appointed as Staff Tutor in 1963. She died on 29 December 1990 in Hobart.