Kerstin Thorék was born in Skellefteå. She is a librarian, has trained to be an actor, and holds a graduate degree in Theatre Research.
She made her debut in 1964 with the poetry collection Ta ner änglarna and subsequently published another six collections: Skärmaskinen, 1966, I stället för album, 1977, Anatomiska sånger, 1980, Öppna tal, 1983, Glädjens fragment, 1984, and Från observatoriet, 1997.
She has also written works for children, for example Från härs och tvärs till blåbärsvers, 1983, and reproduced poetry into Swedish, above all the works of Eeva Kilpi and Gabriela Melinescu.