Karin Heiberg was born into a Norwegian middle-class family in Paterson, New Jersey (USA), and became politically interested as a socialist in her early teens.
She met her husband-to-be when they were 18, but after a short romance she moved to Canada with her family, where she lived for six years and was briefly married.
After her divorce in Canada, she returned to Norway planning to complete a doctorate in genetics.
Karin started her career as a government official working for the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation.
There she, under the direction of Inger Louise Valle developed several policy initiatives to include women in the workforce.