Gertrud Lilja was the daughter of a businessman in Småland, trained as a chaser and drawing teacher, and married an official in Stockholm in 1939.
In 1924, she made her debut with a collection of short stories about people on the fringes of existence, Den besvärliga gåvan. She was celebrated first and foremost for her human insight and as a master of the short story, but she has also written aphorisms, such as in the collection Genom ofärgade glasögon, 1960, together with a number of novels, often with female protagonists, such as in Paulina, 1927, Den enfaldiga, 1953, Men somt föll på hälleberget, 1955, and Döttrarna, 1964.