Her father, Harry Bird, was the grandson of English immigrants and her mother, Anne (née Walsh), was Irish American.

She was a standout scholar in high school and won a scholarship to Long Island University, where she earned her bachelor's degree magna cum laude.

In a 1998 oral history interview, fellow liberal Stanley Mosk said that Bird was a bright and articulate lawyer, but a terrible administrator (one of the Chief Justice's major responsibilities).

In every instance, she issued a decision overturning the death penalty that had been imposed at trial, including that of serial killer Rodney Alcala.

[8] In 1982, Bird argued in dissent that the proposed California Proposition 8, known as the Victims' Bill of Rights, should not be allowed on the ballot.

[9] In 1984, Bird and a majority of the court granted the American Federation of Labor's 1984 original petition to block a balanced budget amendment proposition from appearing on the ballot.

[citation needed] In 1985, Bird said in interviews that opposition to her rulings was based on sexism, bigotry, and right-wing ideology led by U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese.

[12] Her rulings and public statements led Bird's critics to claim that she was substituting her personal opinions and ideas for the law.

[14] In addition to Bird, Reynoso and Grodin were also voted off the seven-justice California state supreme court bench.

But the difference is that I took an oath to support the law as it is and not as I might prefer it to be, and therefore, I've written my share of opinions upholding capital judgments.

[17][18] Bird died on December 4, 1999, at Stanford University Medical Center from complications of breast cancer, which she had fought on and off since 1976.