Bonnye Stuart is a tenth generation New Orleanian and member of the Perret family. She grew up in the city amid 39 first cousins and lots of aunts and uncles. She got her B.A. in Advertising from the Manship School of Journalism at Louisiana State University and received her M.A. in Communication from the University of New Orleans. Her four children were all born in New Orleans and she has been teaching at the university level for ten years. She writes short stories, poems, and plays many of which are based on her life in New Orleans.