Kirsteen Zimmern was born in Hong Kong in 1979 to a Scottish mother and a Chinese father. She spent the early years of her life in a Chinese village in the New Territories with her parents and extended Chinese family.

She completed her primary and secondary education in Hong Kong before leaving to read law in the United Kingdom. After attaining her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, she joined the Inner Temple and was subsequently called to the Bar of England and Wales. Unable to cope any longer with the English weather, she returned home to commence her practice as a barrister.

Kirsteen has always enjoyed amateur photography and is particularly interested in black and white portraiture. She continues to live in Hong Kong and is married with two step-daughters and a son.