She was encouraged into alpine skiing by her father, Halvor Heggtveit, a Canadian cross-country champion who qualified for the Winter Olympics in 1932,[3] but did not compete.

[8] At the age of 15 in 1954, Heggtveit first gained international attention when she became the youngest winner ever of the Holmenkollen giant slalom event in Norway.

[12] Although Heggtveit suffered several injuries between 1955 and 1957,[4] she still earned a spot on Canada's Olympic team at age 17 in 1956 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.

[14] At a time when Europeans dominated alpine skiing, Heggtveit was inspired by the breakthrough performance of teammate Lucile Wheeler of Quebec, who won Olympic bronze in the downhill in 1956, and three medals at the World Championships in 1958 at Bad Gastein, Austria.

[21][22] Her performance on the world stage was again recognized in 1976 when she was made a member of the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian honor.

[5] She is sister to Alexander Heggtveit, MD, cardiac pathologist with ties to Brooklyn, NY, Ottawa, Hamilton, and Seaforth, Ontario, and great-aunt to Katie Heggtveit, granddaughter of Alexander, a social entrepreneur with ties to Toronto, Ontario, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee since 2023, recently inducted into the Toronto Sport Hall of Honor.