Marly Wells is a proud woman of Warlpiri and white Australian descent. She grew up in Alice Springs. She completed a Bachelor of Arts at Melbourne University with majors in Sociology and Indigenous Studies. Marly lived in England for two years in her early 20s. She then returned to Alice Springs where she worked in the management of children’s services.

Marly has also worked as a freelance editor and researcher for Hardie Grant Publishing. She co-wrote a children’s book for the Girls Can Boys Can project in Alice Springs and an article for The Saturday Paper about the killing of Kumenjayi Walker at Yuendumu.