Gale Zoë Garnett was born in Auckland, New Zealand, on July 17, 1942 and moved to Canada with her family when she was 11. She began her career as an actress, appearing in many stage productions and eventually moved on to numerous television shows, including Hawaiian Eye, 77 Sunset Strip, and Bonanza. She wrote songs as a hobby, but in 1963, RCA Records, impressed with her voice and songs, signed her to a recording contract.

In 1964, her debut album, "My Kind Of Folk Songs" spawned the single "We'll Sing In The Sunshine". The song went to Billboard's number 5 position and later earned a Grammy Award. Her next release however, didn't fare nearly as well, as "Lovin' Place" stalled at number 54.

By the late 60s, Garnett and her backing band, "Gentle Reign", had become influenced by the hippie counter-cultural movement, embracing psychedelia, singing about rainbows, magic wands, and other enchantments. Finding that she could no longer sell records, she retired from the music business in the early 70s.

Garnett resumed appearing in feature films and on television shows, usually in supporting roles. In subsequent years, she branched out into journalism, writing essays, columns and book reviews for newspapers including Toronto's Globe and Mail, Village Voice and Toronto Life magazine. Her first novel is titled "Visible Amazement" and she also wrote and performed two one-person theater pieces, "Gale Garnett & Company" and "Life After Latex".