Molly Haskell was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and grew up in a house on Pocahontas Avenue in Richmond, Virginia.

[2] Haskell attended St. Catherine's School,[3][4] Sweet Briar College, the University of London and the Collège de Sorbonne before settling in New York.

[5] Haskell participated in the 2012 Sight & Sound critics' poll, where she listed her ten favorite films as follows: À Nos Amours, Au hasard Balthazar, The Awful Truth, Chinatown, Claire's Knee, I Know Where I'm Going!, Madame de..., The Shop Around the Corner, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, and Vertigo.

[6] Haskell was married to fellow film critic Andrew Sarris, who died on June 20, 2012.

[2] In 2013, Haskell received an Athena Film Festival Award for her leadership, creativity and the extraordinary example she sets for other women in the field.