[1] Born in Paris, France, Véronique Tadjo is the daughter of an Ivorian civil servant and a French painter and sculptor.

[3][4] In 1979, Tadjo chose to teach English at the Lycée Moderne de Korhogo (secondary school) in the North of Côte d'Ivoire.

[5][6] In 1984, she published her first book of poetry, Latérite / Red Earth, winning a literary prize from the Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique.

[9] In the past few years, she has facilitated workshops in writing and illustrating children's books in Mali, Benin, Chad, Haiti, Mauritius, French Guiana, Burundi, Rwanda, the United States, and South Africa.

[13][14][15] In a June 2024 graduation ceremony at the University of St Andrews, Tadjo was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt).