Cathy Keefe was born in Malden Massachusetts and was raised and attended school in Wakefield Massachusetts. After showing an interest in drawing and painting as a young child she took oil painting classes with Nancy Gambone and Fred Fiandaca . She won an art scholarship in high school and with that help attended Montserrat College of Art and Beverly for one year. The next 40 years were spent working and raising a family, Having been retired since 2014 she has gotten back to her art.