Karolina Born-Tschümperlin was born in Lucerne, Switzerland, and moved to Canada in 1995. She studied at the University of Cambridge and at l'Université Paris-Sorbonne, and holds a degree in modern foreign languages from the Dolmetscherschule Basel. With her husband, Doug, and her dog, Otis, she owns a small lavender farm in Naramata, BC. In her spare time, she paints and plays various instruments with her band Slapdog Four plus Joe.