Cornelia MacIntyre was born in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii on January 31, 1909.
Foley continued her art education at the University of Washington, and spent two years in London at the Slade School of Art as a pupil of Henry Tonks (1862–1937).
Subsequently, she married Lieutenant Paul Foley (who became a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy).
During 1937–1941, the couple lived in Long Beach, California and in Seattle, Washington in 1941–1942.
Cornelia Foley died January 18, 2010, in Severna Park, Maryland.