Moncrieff was born in 1948 or 1949,[2] at Hope, near Nelson, New Zealand, one of four children of Dorothy and Jack Dick, a sawmill owner.

Although she wanted to be an artist, her application to art school was declined and instead she enrolled to study at Christchurch Teachers' College.

It was a stage show combining wearable art, theatre and dance, and held at Cobb Cottage with an audience of 200.

[6][7][8] Moncrieff and her sister Heather Palmer sold WOW to New Zealand resident Japanese businessman Hideaki Fukutake in 2022.

[9] In the 1998 Queen's Birthday Honours, Moncrieff was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the arts and tourism.