Rippin spent most of her childhood in South-East Asia, living in Brunei, Singapore, Hong Kong and China. She also lived in China for three years as an adult and studied traditional Chinese painting.
Rippin has taught Writing for Children at RMIT, Melbourne and has written books for the Reading Discovery Series of children's readers. She has mentored emerging writers and illustrators, especially through the 100 Story Building creative writing centre for marginalised youth, and has presented at schools, literary festivals in Australia and internationally, and in a regular program on 3RRR, in which she interviews children's authors and industry professionals.
Two of her Fang Fang books (Fang Fang's Chinese New Year and Speak Chinese, Fang Fang!) have been included in La Trobe's former undergraduate unit on post-colonial literature for children.
Her awards include YABBA, KOALA, and KROC awards, as well as a Children's Book Council Book of the Year Award. She has been shortlisted for both the NSW Premier's Literary Awards and the Prime Minister's Literary Awards.