Suzanne Rachel Forbes was born and raised in Manhattan, and attended Parsons School of Design for two years, then finished her BFA at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, in the Fine Art Program.

She has worked as a courtroom artist for CBS Television, CNN and several newspapers, as the regular artist on DC Comics' Star Trek, The Original Series, as a book illustrator and as a portraitist.

Her paintings, comic art and courtroom illustrations are in collections across the United States. Her current work focuses on traditional portraiture with an alternative flavor, as well as allegories and narrative portraits.

She lives in Berkeley with her lizard and two cats.