Higgins was born in Melbourne, Australia. She was a student at Geelong Grammar School. Most of her spare time at the school was spent in a music room, playing the piano. When she was 15 years old, she wrote a song called "All for Believing" that got an "A" in a school assignment. The next year, Higgins went to a record label, but was denied because she had not written any other songs. She began writing new songs. In the meantime, her sister sent "All for Believing" to Triple J, and it won an "Unearthed" competition. Because of this, record labels Sony and EMI both contacted her. Higgins chose "Eleven", a part of EMI.