Di Morris was born in Kirikiriroa Hamilton, Aotearoa New Zealand. She grew up in Te Matau-a-Maui Hawkes Bay, studied Fine Arts at Te Whare Wananga o Waitaha University of Canterbury, followed by a Master of Design from Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. In the 1980s and '90s she worked as a graphic designer and art director in Sydney, Australia, before returning home to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2001. Di teaches secondary school design and photography, and in her spare time she gardens and illustrates. She lives in Hawkes Bay with her free-range chickens.