Melanie Tait was born around 1979[1] and grew up in Robertson, New South Wales, where her parents built and ran a grocery store for 34 years.

[3][4] In 2001 Tait founded the Itchy Feet Company in London,[5] and in 2002 was appointed artistic director of the Old Red Lion Theatre at The Angel, Islington, where she stayed until 2004.

[6][7] Returning to Australia in 2005,[5] Tait began her radio career as a producer on the John Laws Morning Show.

[11][12] At first the network was not keen on Tait writing the screenplay, but the producer Andrea Keir fought for her, and she was mentored by veteran screenwriter and novelist Kylie Needham.

[13] Her third play, A Broadcast Coup, described as a "#MeToo comedy", premiered at Ensemble Theatre as part of Sydney Festival in January 2023.

[9] She said in July 2023 that she was working on several plays, two screenplays (one co-written with Yvette Poshoglian), and there was a television series in development with Cecilia Ritchie.

She spent a month in a specialist clinic in 2016 to treat her food-related depression, and in 2017 opted for the more drastic vertical-sleeve gastrectomy.