[1] Bryant was born in Perth, Western Australia and attended Firbank Girls' Grammar School in Melbourne.
From 1977 to 1990, Chief Justice Bryant was a partner with the firm of Phillips Fox in Perth where she practised as a solicitor and counsel specialising in family law.
[5] Prior to her appointment, Chief Justice Bryant had practised at the Victorian Bar from 1990 where she specialised in family law and de facto property disputes, particularly at the appellate level.
She was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1997 and was a founding member of Chancery Chambers, Melbourne.
[6] In 2012, Bryant was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for,[7] distinguished service to the judiciary and to the law, particularly to family law policy reform and practice, through the establishment of the Federal Magistrates Court, and to the advancement of women in the legal profession [...].She was inducted into the Western Australian Women's Hall of Fame in 2018.