Judith Thompson was born in Montreal on September 20, 1954, the daughter of W. R. Thompson, a geneticist and the head of the psychology department at Queen's University, and Mary, who taught in the Queens Drama Department for many years. After attending Queen's University and graduating in 1976, Thompson enrolled in the National Theater School's acting program. Afterwards, Thompson worked as an actor for a year, but then gave up acting to pursue writing.

Thompson's first play, The Crackwalker, follows the doomed relationship of a mentally retarded woman and an emotionally unstable man. It caused a sensation when it was first produced in 1980 and was very highly regarded in Canada's theater scene. Thompson's second play, White Biting Dog (1984), was eagerly anticipated and went on to win Thopmson's first Governor's General Award for Drama. Thompson settled in Toronto and began a working relationship with the Tarragon Theater, where most of...