Margaret Heafield an haife shi ne a ranar 17 ga Agusta, 1936, a Paoli, Indiana, ga Kenneth Heafield da Ruth Esther Heafield (née Partington). Bayan kammala karatunta daga makarantar Hancock High School a 1954, ta yi karatun lissafi a Jami'ar Michigan a shekarar 1955. Ta sami digiri na BA a fannin ilmin lissafi tare da karamin digiri a fannin falsafa daga Kwalejin Earlham a shekarar 1958. Ta ɗan koyar da ilimin lissafi da Faransanci a makarantar sakandare bayan kammala karatun don tallafawa mijinta yayin da yake aiki a digiri na farko a Jami'ar Harvard. Ta koma Boston, Massachusetts, da niyyar yin karatun digiri na biyu a fannin ilimin lissafi a Jami'ar Brandeis. Ta ambaci Florence Long, shugaban sashen lissafi a Earlham College, a matsayin mai taimakawa tare da sha'awarta ta ci gaba da ilimin lissafi da zama farfesa a fannin lissafi.
Makarantar Sakandaren Hancock