Sue Taylor Grafton (born April 24, 1940) is a contemporary American author of detective novels. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Sue Grafton is the daughter of novelist C. W. Grafton and Vivian Harnsberger, both of whom were the children of Presbyterian ministers.
Grafton and her sister Ann were raised in Louisville. She attended both the University of Louisville (freshman year) and Western Kentucky State Teachers College (sophomore and junior years) before graduating from the University of Louisville in 1961 with a bachelors degree in English Literature and minors in Humanities and the Fine Arts. After graduating, Grafton held various jobs as a hospital admissions clerk, cashier, and medical secretary in Santa Monica, California and Santa Barbara, California.