Alice Bradley Sheldon, better known by her pen name James Tiptree Jr., was a pioneering American science fiction and fantasy author. Born on August 24, 1915, in Chicago, Illinois, Sheldon was the daughter of the writer Mary Hastings Bradley and lawyer and explorer Herbert Bradley. Sheldon's adventurous childhood included extensive travel with her parents, taking her to Africa, India, and Southeast Asia.

Before her writing career, Sheldon was an artist and art critic. During World War II, she served as the first American female photointelligence officer. Post-war, she married her commanding officer, Huntington D. Sheldon. Both Sheldons joined the newly formed CIA in the early 1950s, though Alice Sheldon resigned in 1955 to pursue her education, eventually earning a Ph.D. in experimental psychology.

Under the guise of James Tiptree Jr., a name she adopted in 1967, Sheldon penned influential works that concealed her true identity until 1977. Her debut story collection, Ten Thousand Light-Years from Home, was published in 1973, followed by her first novel, Up the Walls of the World, in 1978. Her oeuvre includes notable works such as the novelette The Women Men Don't See, the novella The Girl Who Was Plugged In, and the short story Her Smoke Rose Up Forever. In 2012, Tiptree was posthumously inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, honoring her significant contributions to the genre.