Elvira Bach was born in 1951 in Neuenhain, Taunus (Hesse). She studied painting at the University of Arts in West Berlin, under Hann Trier from 1972 to 1979, alongside the co-founders of the Galerie am Moritzplatz. During her studies she worked at the Berlin Schaubühne theatre. Afterwards, a scholarship took her to the Dominican Republic. Participation in documenta 7 in Kassel in 1982 brought about her international breakthrough. Bach lives and works in Berlin.