She co-founded the philanthropic Minderoo Foundation and is co-owner of investment company Tattarang with Andrew Forrest.
[3] Forrest grew up on a farm in Spicers Creek, between Mudgee and Dubbo in central western New South Wales.
[4] Forrest went to university at Canberra College of Advanced Education and graduated in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts in secretarial studies, majoring in economics.
In the late 1980s, Forrest was a cook in a pub in Kynuna and later had a job in Europe with the United Nations.
[2] In 1991, Nicola married Andrew Forrest who went on to lead the mining companies Anaconda Nickel and Fortescue Metals Group.
She is also a member of the Global Philanthropic Circle and the Prime Minister's Community Business Partnership.
[11] In October 2024, the Forrests stepped down as co-chairs of the Minderoo Foundation but retained their board seats.