Fincher was born on 27 March 1951 in Boort, Western Victoria, Australia, to school teacher parents who moved between Terang, Coleraine, Moonee Ponds and Mildura.
[2] She received her undergraduate degree at the University of Melbourne (completing Honours in 1972), her master's degree in geography at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, and her PhD at the Graduate School of Geography at Clark University, Massachusetts, United States, in 1979 ("The local state and the urban built environment: the case of Boston in late capitalism").
Fincher specialises in the analysis of ethnicity and gender in the urban built environment, and the interaction between state institutions and the public.
[3] She has research and teaching interests in the impact of immigration, multiculturalism, and diversity in urban areas.
[4] She also worked on a joint project on public attitudes to sea level rise in Gippsland, Victoria.