Born in Ivanhoe to Robena Black and Frederick Woolcock,[2] as one of three sisters, Marjorie grew up learning the piano and experimenting with art.
[4] Woolcock would travel south from her home to sketch in Mordialloc, which is how she once had a chance encounter with the artist Margaret Baskerville.
[6] She would first develop her formal technique at sculpting, attending life class at the Victorian Artists' Society, and sculpture at the Workingmen's College (later known as the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology).
In 1953 she would take part in a spring exhibition at the Victorian Artists' Society which featured women as more than half the exhibitors shown.
[3] In later life she would travel to coastal areas of Victoria to paint, with her favourite places being Wilson's Promontory and Phillip Island.