In 2010, Sejima was the second woman to receive the Pritzker Prize, which was awarded jointly with Nishizawa.

Sejima was born on 29 October 1956 in Mito, Ibaraki, Japan.

In the same year, she began working with the architecture firm Toyo Ito and Associates until 1987.

One of her first hires was Ryue Nishizawa, a student who had worked with Sejima at Toyo Ito and Associates.

In 1995, the two founded the Tokyo-based firm SANAA (Sejima and Nishizawa and Associates).