[2] She gained her doctorate at UCL in 1985 for a PhD on menstruation in ancient Greece supervised by Sarah C. (Sally) Humphreys.

She retired in January 2017 and took up the position of Robert E. and Susan T. Rydell Visiting Professor 2017–2018 at Gustavus Adolphus College, St Peter, MN.

Following the publication of Immaculate Forms she appeared on three BBC radio shows: Woman's Hour, Start the Week and The Infinite Monkey Cage.

In September 2024, with Profile Books/Wellcome Collection, King published Immaculate Forms: Uncovering the History of Women's Bodies.

Immaculate Forms focuses on a similarly broad time period and investigates changing beliefs about the breasts, clitoris, hymen and womb.