Barbara Cole was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1953. Throughout her career, Cole has worked internationally on commercial projects and large-scale art commissions, including installations for the Breast Cancer Centre at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto and for Trump Hollywood in Florida. Cole has won prestigious awards including the Grand Prix at the Festival International de le Protographie de Mode in Cannes, France. In 2012, she released the highly acclaimed documentary series Snapshot: The Art of Photography II, an episode devoted exclusively to Cole's photographic practice. Cole is a member of the advisory board of the Seneca College Photography Department in Toronto.