Cate was born in Sydney in 1959, however she spent her teenage years living on 15 acres of Eagle Bay beachfront in the South West of Western Australia.

 

She later returned to Sydney where she completed her tertiary qualifications and taught art at Sydney high schools for five years.

 

After a successful exhibition in 1997 at the Australian Craft Show in Sydney, Cate gave up teaching to concentrate on her own work.