Atkinson was born in Sydney. She attended Bishop's College and the Royal Naval School in Colombo, Sri Lanka and completed her secondary education at St Hilda's School on Queensland's Gold Coast. In 1960 she began an Arts degree at the University of Queensland, before becoming a journalist on the Brisbane Telegraph from 1960 to 1962, the Sydney Telegraph from 1962 to 1963, and the Courier Mail from 1963 to 1964. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in History and Political Science, in 1967.