Although born in England, Margaret Forte grew up in New Zealand from the age of seven. She worked as a journalist with the Dominion in Wellington, the Sydney Daily Telegraph and the Adelaide News. She married and resigned from The News in the 1950s to be a full-time mother to her three sons.
She joined the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and was secretary to the SA branch for thirty years. She also worked for the SA Division of the United Nations Association. In 1986 she was awarded an OAM for Services to International Relations and Peace.