Christina Ama Ata Aidoo was born on March 23, 1942, in Abeadzi Kyiakor, near Saltpond, in the Central Region of Ghana.

Born on 31 March according to some sources, Ama Ata Aidoo grew up in a Fante royal household, with her father being the chief of Abeadzi Kyiakor, and her exposure to education and her aspirations as a writer were influenced by her father's efforts to educate their village after her grandfather's murder by neocolonialists.

After completing her education at Wesley Girls' Senior High School, Ama Ata Aidoo pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at the University of Ghana, Legon, where she wrote her debut play, "The Dilemma of a Ghost," which was published by Longman in 1965, establishing her as the first published female African dramatist.

Aidoo pursued a fellowship in creative writing at Stanford University, then returned to Ghana to teach English, becoming a professor at the University of Ghana, a research fellow at the Institute of African Studies, and a lecturer at the University of Cape Coast before serving as Minister of Education, advocating for free education and addressing the roles of African women while promoting unity, critiquing exploitation, and co-chairing the Organization of Women Writers of Africa.

Ama Ata Aidoo is a prolific writer whose works include plays such as "The Dilemma of a Ghost" and "Anowa," novels like "Our Sister Killjoy" challenging traditional views on sexuality, award-winning poetry collections like "Someone Talking to Sometime," and she also founded the Mbaasem Foundation to support African women writers; she has made significant contributions to anthologies and published a collection of short stories and essays.

Ama Ata Aidoo received numerous awards throughout her career, including the Mbari Club prize in 1962 for her short story "No Sweetness Here" and the 1992 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book (Africa) for her novel Changes, and she was the inspiration for various works, such as a volume of essays in her honor, a documentary film, and the Aidoo-Snyder Book Prize; furthermore, the Ama Ata Aidoo Centre for Creative Writing was established in her honor at the African University College of Communications.

Aidoo passed away at the age of 81 in Accra, and President Nana Akufo-Addo announced that she would receive a state funeral, honoring her as an exceptional writer, advocate for women's rights, and champion of African and global progress, with funeral rites taking place from July 13 to July 16.