Okrafor was born in the United States. Her parents are members of the Igbo group from Nigeria. She has visited Nigeria many times since she was very young. While she studied Homewood-Flossmoor High School in Flossmoor, Ill., Okorafor was a good tennis player and did very well studying science. Later, she found out she had scoliosis. This condition and surgery to fix it ended Okorafor's student athletic career. It made it difficult for her to walk. She started writing as a hobby while she recovered from surgery. Her novels and stories show both her West African life and her American life. In 2001 Okorafor graduated of the Clarion Writers Workshop in Lansing, Michigan. She earned a PhD in English from the University of Illinois, Chicago. She is an associate professor of creative writing and literature at the University at Buffalo (SUNY). She lives in both Buffalo and Olympia Fields, Illinois with her family.