Thelma van Rensburg was born in Pretoria, South Africa in 1969. She has a B.A Honours degree in physical education from the University of Pretoria and a B.A Honours degree in psychology from Unisa. In 2004 she decided to study art full time and received her B.Tech degree in Fine Arts at Tshwane University of Technology in 2007. She completed a further Honours degree in Fine arts at the University of Pretoria in 2013 and completed a Masters of Arts degree in Fine Arts at the University of Pretoria in 2016. She completed three artist residencies through Transart Institute for creative practice in Berlin and Mexico between 2015 and 2018. She has participated in nine solo exhibitions and numerous group exhibitions throughout South Africa. Her work has featured in prestigious competitions such as Sasol New Signatures, Thami Mnyele Fine Arts Awards and the Sanlam Vuleka Arts competition.