Kate Charlesworth was born in Barnsley, Yorkshire, in 1950. Educated at Wombwell High School, Barnsley, from 1961 to 1968, she studied graphics and stage design at Manchester College of Art and Design, from 1968 to 1973.
In 1973 Charlesworth drew a daily cartoon strip ‘Twice Nightly’ for the Manchester Evening News, and since then has worked freelance for a number of publications including World Medicine (c.1978-85), Gay News (1978-81), New Scientist (1978-2002, including colour strip ‘Life, the Universe and (Almost) Everything’ [1988-2002]), Guardian (1994-2003, including strip ‘Millennium Basin [1994-6]), Pink Paper (‘Plain Tales from the Bar’ [1988-94] and ‘Naughty Little Monkeys’ [1992-5]), Company (‘Claptrap’ 1984-5), Esquire (‘Talking Heads’), Knockabout Comics, Independent (‘Lysteria Crescent’) Scotland on Sunday, and The Times.
Charlesworth has also produced drawings for the National Museum of Scotland (1991-2003), storyboards for Hot Animation’s ‘Bob the Builder’ and postcards. She works in soft pencil, pen and ink (using a Gillot 404 bronze nib) and watercolour.