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Shirley Russon Ririe was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on February 20, 1929. She attended the University of Utah, then furthered her studies in dance in New York. She married O. Rhees Ririe in 1951; together, they had four daughters. Soon after her marriage, Shirley Ririe and soon after accepted a position to teach at Brigham Young University. Shirley later accepted a position at the University of Utah and met Joan Woodbury, who also taught dance at the University. They started a small company, called Choreodancers. In 1964, this became the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, a group founded to promote, develope, and educate contemporary and modern dance. The company choreographed and performed in Utah, Arizona, California, Colorado, and internationally. In addition to performance, the company offered dance education. Ririe choreographed over 100 works for the Ririe-Woodbury Company in addition to choreographing musicals at the University of Utah's Pioneer Memorial Theater.

In addition to running the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, Ririe taught at the University of Utah for 42 years. Ririe specializes in dance education for children: since 1974, she served on the National Advisory Committee for Young Audiences; she served as the United States delegate to Dance and the Child International; worked as consultant for two PBS shows; and in 1994 served on a committee todevelop National Standards for Arts Education K-12. Ririe has received many awards for her work in dance and dance education, including: an Honorary Doctorate and Distinguished Woman of hte Year Award from the University of Utah; the Governor's Award and Honors in the Arts Award from the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce; a Plaudit from the National Dance Association; and a Lifetime Achievement from teh Utah Dance Eeducation Association.