Michael was born on March 27, 1943, to a Lebanese-Newfoundland family in St. John's, Newfoundland. Michael was a nun until she left the Roman Catholic Church in 1993 over conflicts with the local Archdiocese, including the Archdiocese's handling of an alleged sexual assault case. She has completed degrees at Memorial University of Newfoundland and the University of Toronto. She started her career as a high school teacher on Bell Island, and was a junior high school principal and teacher in Baie Verte, the Codroy Valley, on the Burin Peninsula, and in St. John's.