Catherine Duncan, actor, playwright, film-maker, author and collagist, was born on 17 March, 1915, in Launceston, Tasmania. Her first literary efforts date from the age of 9, contributing stories, plays and poems to the local media. Having spent the last 2 years of her schooling at Ruyton Girls School in Kew, Melbourne, Catherine began an arts degree at at the age of 16 at Melbourne University and also played a leading role in the University Repertory Society.

In the 1930s, Catherine was involved with the radical Workers Theatre Group, later the New Theatre. 'Sons of the Morning', Catherine's most acclaimed play set in Crete during wartime, was first performed at the New Theatre. During the 1940s, Catherine wrote and acted in many plays for radio and stage. In 1946, Catherine's performance in the radio play 'Children in Uniform' won her the inaugural Macquarie Award, along with Peter Finch.

The first woman employed to make Australian sound films, Catherine worked for the Australian National Film Board, directing films designed to showcase Australia to prospective immigrants, including 'Christmas under the Sun' (1946), 'Men Wanted' (1946) and 'The Meeting Place' (1947). In 1946, Catherine worked with radical film-makers, Joris Ivens and Marion Michelle, writing the commentary for the clandestine documentary 'Indonesia Calling', a film about Indonesian independence narrated by Peter Finch.

On board a ship to London in 1947 to take up a job with the BBC, Catherine met Roger Copillet, a Frenchman and a First Officer with the ship, whom she married in 1954. Catherine settled in Paris, where she remained until her death in 2006.

Whilst in transit to London, Catherine received a telegram from Joris Ivens inviting her to work with him and Marion Michelle again, this time in Czechoslovakia, to write the commentary for the film 'Pierwse Lata' (The First Years). Catherine was in Czechoslovakia from mid 1948-early 1949, sending many letters to her family detailing her experiences and these form an interesting part of the collection.

In 1954, Catherine became the Secretary of the International Federation of Film Archives and the International Secretary of Film Societies, part of the Cinématique Française. Following her move to France, Catherine continued writing, contributing short stories to journals and radio scripts to the BBC and French Radio. In the early 1980s, Catherine was involved with a small experimental dance group, the Memory Movement Theatre which was based in Paris, becoming President of the organisation.

In 1982, whilst playing with her grand-daughter, Nicola, Catherine discovered collage and in August, 1986, brought the performance 'Shadow of Light', a dramatised projection of collage, to the Melbourne Arts Centre. Catherine presented collage workshops for children and adolescents from 1987-1998, some of whom were sick and disabled and to hold exhibitions of their completed art work. During that time period, exhibitions of her own collage were also held. Catherine's last collages were created in 2000. Catherine's workshops and collage produced during this period are signed Kate Duncan. A book for her grandchildren in Tasmania inspired the publication 'The Grandmother's book' (Melbourne, Hyland House, 1988), which was written and illustrated by Catherine. In 1993, Catherine contributed a lengthy biographical narrative ‘Paul and Hazel Strand: An Intimate Portrait' for the publication 'The world of Paul Strand, my doorstep: 1950-1976' (New York, N.Y., Aperture Foundation, 1994).

Catherine started experimenting with the digital camera in 1999 and created many images of flowers, birds, objects in her apartment and views from the balcony of her Parisian apartment. These included photographs of light and shadow, many of which were published in a book entitled 'Self-Shadows' to coincide with Catherine's 90th birthday in 2005. Catherine passed away a year later, on 14 August, 2006.