Raised in Moncton, New Brunswick, by an Acadian mother and an Irish-descended father, Claudia Kingston has been a lover of languages since childhood. Working for many years in mostly bilingual positions in the public and private sectors, she became a certified translator (French to English) in 2000. Her mother was a member of Les Évangélines, an Acadian women's choir sent on a goodwill tour to Louisiana in 1948, so the story of Évangéline has always figured prominently in her family.