McDonald was born on 22 November 1958 in Newport on Tay, Fife, Scotland.

[2] McDonald appeared on the 2012 charity single 'It Does Get Better' created by The L Project.

[3][4] She performed a one-off show at the Barrowland, Glasgow 2 March 2013 with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the God's Home Movie album and the release of her ninth studio album, HOME.

[5] In January 2013 she married her long-term partner, Alanna, in Lanark, where she lived as a teenager.

[1] In 2017, she was inducted into the Saltire Society Outstanding Women of Scotland.