Vivien was born in the UK. After leaving school, she studied languages, then worked for several years in publishing and at the library of the London Business School, whilst studying art at St Martins in London. In 1971, she migrated to Australia and worked in the Planning Research Centre at the University of Sydney. She followed her love of writing by completing a B.A. at Macquarie University, studying English Literature and Creative Writing.
She joined The Society of Women Writers in 1996. She is also an enthusiastic member of a local writing group, and commenced writing Ursula’s Story when she enrolled in an M.A. by research at Macquarie. However life intervened and Vivien only finished the novel in 2020.