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Elizabeth Curtis French, M.D., was born in Picabo, Idaho on November 7, 1907. She enrolled as a pre-med student at the University of Idaho and continued her studies at the University of Oregon Medical School in Portland, Oregon. She graduated in 1931 at the age of 23, 1 of 4 female medical students out of a class of 75. She served an internship at the Illinois Research Hospital in Chicago, becoming proficient in child delivery. After a year, she completed a residency at the Women's and Children's Hospital in San Francisco, California. French then returned to Weiser, Idaho where she established a general practice.

In 1942, Elizabeth Curtis met and married Donald French. Soon after, she and her husband moved to Portland where she administered first aid to shipyard workers. In 1945, Elizabeth gave birth to her first and only child, Donald. She established a medical office in Portland and specialized in obstetrics and gynecology.

French's husband Donald passed away in 1972. She continued to practice until 1979, reluctantly retiring at the age of 81. After retirement, French traveled extensively, eventually settling in Tucson, Arizona where she gardened, mastered the computer, and began writing an autobiography.

French died of lymphoma at the age of 89 on June 22, 1997, having delivered 7,000 babies in a career span of 60 years.