Muriel Anderson was born in Downers Grove, Illinois, and is of Finnish descent: her great-grandparents emigrated to the United States from Finland.

[3] Anderson has performed with Chet Atkins, Tommy Emmanuel, Earl Klugh, Les Paul, and Doc Watson.

[3] Anderson has released more than a dozen solo albums, instructional CDs, and DVDs through TrueFire and Homespun, and songbooks published by Hal Leonard, Mel Bay, and Zen-On Japan.

Her compositions include commissioned classical works for the Nashville Chamber Orchestra and Vox Caelestis Women's Choir.

She started All Star Guitar Night, which donates its money to the Music for Life Alliance, a charity she founded.