[1] Whitelaw was born in Sydney, Australia and completed a degree in Geography and Anthropology at Sydney University; however, she abandoned a Master's thesis in Coastal Geomorphology in 1980 to work as a photojournalist and run dive charter yachts in the Republic of Vanuatu.
She obtained an MA from Queensland University of Technology in 2008 and Post Graduate Diploma in Sustainable Management in 2012 from Open Polytechnic New Zealand.
[2] Whitelaw is a professional photographer and freelance photojournalist as well as author.
Her work has appeared in several international magazines including National Geographic.
She currently lives in the Canterbury foothills west of Christchurch New Zealand working as the manager of BRaid, an environmental trust.