Margaret Heafield waxay ku dhalatay August 17, 1936, Paoli, Indiana, oo ah Kenneth Heafield iyo Ruth Esther Heafield (née Partington). Ka dib markii ay ka qalin jabisay Dugsiga Sare ee Hancock sanadkii 1954, waxay ku baratay xisaabta Jaamacadda Michigan sanadkii 1955. Waxay ka heshay shahaadada BA ee xisaabta iyada oo ay yar tahay falsafada Earlham College sanadkii 1958. Waxay si kooban u bartay xisaabta dugsiga sare iyo Faransiiska ka dib markii ay qalin jabisay si ay u taageerto ninkeeda inta uu ka shaqeynayay shahaadada jaamacadda ee Jaamacadda Harvard. Waxay u guurtay Boston, Massachusetts, iyada oo ujeedkeedu ahaa in ay ku sameyso daraasad qalin-jabinta xisaabta macmalka ah ee Jaamacadda Brandeis.
Dugsiga sare ee Hancock