Michal Ashkenasi was born in the Netherlands and emigrated to Israel after World War II in 1951, where she settled and married on Kibbutz Gvar. Ashkenasi then moved near Haifa, Israel, where she lived on the edge of the stunning Negev Desert. Ashkenasi is a widow, mother of two sons and has 5 grandchildren. She came to art only at the age of 46, studied for 10 years at Haifa University and holds a master's degree.