Astrid Tollefsen was the daughter of a teacher and principal at Horten school in Vestfold. She trained at Otto Treiders Handelsskole (school of commerce) and worked in an office before making her debut at the age of fifty with the poetry collection Portrett i speil and, together with Gunvor Hofmo and Astrid Hjærtenæs Andersen, making her mark on post-war modernist poetry in Norway.
Her poetic voice is objective, making things stand out starkly in their fragmented and urbanised reality. She was very productive as a poet, publishing altogether fourteen poetry collections, including Sang ved veikrysset, 1952, and På nattens terskel, 1966.
