Her father was barrister Chester Porter and her mother, Jean, was a high school chemistry teacher.

[2] Porter's last book published during her life was El Dorado, her fifth verse novel, about a serial child killer.

[3] Porter was an open lesbian[4] and in 1993 moved to Melbourne to be with her partner, fellow writer Andrea Goldsmith.

Porter had been suffering from breast cancer for four years before her death, but "many thought she was winning the battle," according to journalist Matt Buchanan.

[3] On 21 February 2010, actress Cate Blanchett read excerpts from Porter's posthumously published short work on literary criticism and emotions in literature, On Passion, at the Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne.