Daughter of Rodney and Marilyn Sullivan, she was born in Whyalla but a few years later her parents moved to Smoky Bay, her mother's home town. Sherrie started her schooling at Ceduna Area School, changed to Nunjikompita school, near Smoky Bay, for two years, then returned to Ceduna where she remained until her schooling was completed.
She started writing poems at the age of about ten, more for herself than anyone else, but as her poems increased in popularity she began to write poems for other people. After leaving school she worked in various areas of the hospitality industry, and continued this work when she moved to Western Australia at the age of 22. In 1998 she was living in Perth.
