Judy Ann Doenges was born in Elmhurst, Illinois, United States. She is a daughter of G. William Doenges and Edia (Refnes) Doenges. In 1981, Doenges received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She enrolled at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1987. . She is the author of two books - "What She Left Me" (1999) and "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" (2006).
She is a recipient of several awards, including the PEN/O. Henry Prize, Bakeless Literary Publication Prize (1998) and Ferro-Grumley Award (1999). During her career, she also received several grants and fellowships, including those from Ohio Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Artist Trust, Yaddo, MacDowell and the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference.
