Auður Haralds took her lower secondary school leaving examination and worked in various occupations. She lived in Italy for a good number of years and since 1978 has earned a living as a professional author. She is a single mother of three children.
In 1979 she published her debut work, the bestselling, controversial novel Hvunndagshetjan, an account of a single mother’s experiences with dubious partners and a prejudiced society. The novel is packed with black humour and hyperbole. Læknamafían, 1980, is closely related to her debut novel; however, her subsequent books Hlustið Þér á Mozart?, 1982, and Ung, há, feig og ljóshærð, 1987, are a parody of romance novels for teenage girls.
She has also written popular teenage books.
