Patrick (Paddy) Victor Martindale White was born in London in 1912 as the oldest child of an Australian grazier, Victor (Dick) Martindale White, and his wife, Ruth (née Withycombe), England-born but of an Australian family. He was enrolled at Cranbrook School in Sydney and two years later was sent to board at Tudor House, near Moss Vale, with the hope the climate would be better for his asthma. Having developed a passion for the theatre, a passion he shared with his mother, Patrick wrote his first play 'Love's Awakening'. In 1924 he published a poem in the school magazine. In 1925 the White family travelled to England, where Patrick spent 4 years at Cheltenham College, studying, reading widely and writing poems. After returning to Australia and working for a brief period on a station in the Snowy Mountains, as well as a jackeroo at Walgett, Patrick enrolled at King's College, University of Cambridge, to study modern languages. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1935. By then he had a few poems published, as well as his first book, an anthology titled Ploughman And Other Poems, and a play produced. More publications followed, including his debut novel Happy Valley (1939), for which he was awarded the Australian Literature Society’s gold medal for the best novel of the year, and later Voss (1957), which became the first winner of the Miles Franklin literary award.

In late 1940 Patrick joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and served in various intelligence roles across North Africa, the Middle East and Greece during World War II. He rose to temporary flight lieutenant and acting squadron leader before leaving the RAF in May 1946. During his time in Alexandria, Egypt, he met Manoly Lascaris, who would become his lifelong partner.

White declined a knighthood and other literary awards but in 1973 became the first Australian to receive the Novel Prize for Literature. He was unable to attend the award ceremony in Sweden due to poor health, therefore the award was accepted on his behalf by friend and painter Sidney Nolan. Patrick used the prize money to establish the Patrick White Literary Award, aiming to support writers whose work had not received appropriate recognition.

Patrick's final years were plagued by health issues. Three Uneasy Pieces (1987), a collection of short stories, was his last work of fiction to be published. Patrick died in 1990 at Highbury, the home he shared with Lascaris, in Centennial Park, Sydney. Per his wishes, his ashes were scattered in the park.