Her name was Irene Yarovich at birth, she was born in Chicago to Russian immigrant parents.
[1] At age 11, she was awarded a scholarship to take classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
[1] Her first solo art exhibition was in 1968 at the Lo Giudice Gallery in Chicago.
[1] In 1985, a four panel fresco she had been commissioned at the Conrad Sulzer Regional Library in Chicago, led to a community controversy over its content.
[6] Her image is included in the iconic 1972 poster Some Living American Women Artists by Mary Beth Edelson.