During the Croatian War of Independence, her father Ante Bodrožić was killed in Vukovar massacre (he is officially still recognized as 'disappeared'[2]), while she and her mother and brother fled occupied Vukovar and settled in Zagreb and Kumrovec as refugees.

Her novel Hotel Zagorje (published in 2010) was awarded the following awards: Josip and Ivan Kozarac (Charter of Success); Kočić's pen, Banja Luka – Belgrade (for outstanding achievements in contemporary literature); Cyclops – for the best screening work.

Noval was also published in Serbia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Macedonia, Turkey and the Netherlands.

Bodrožić, together with award-winning Bosnian director Jasmila Žbanić, wrote a screenplay for the feature film.

In 2017, Ivana Bodrožić has signed the Declaration on the Common Language of the Croats, Serbs, Bosniaks and Montenegrins.