Born in Ukraine, she moved to Brazil at a very early age in 1922. She lived in Maceió, Alagoas and soon moved to Recife, Pernambuco - where she was raised until 1935. The Lispector family then moved to Rio de Janeiro and settled there. She lived in many places since then like London, England, Bern, Switzerland, Naples, Italy, Washington, D.C, U.S. and Belém, Brazil.