She was the second of four children born to Samuel August and Hanna Jonnsson Ericsson. Her siblings were Gunnar, Stina and Ingegerd.

Astrid moved to Stockholm after finishing public school. She had become pregnant at the age of 18, and gave birth to her son Lars in Copenhagen. She sent him to a foster home, but her parents eventually took him to their home in Vimmerby.

In Stockholm, she worked in an office in the Royal Automobile Club. She married Sture Lindgren in 1931 and started a family. Between 1946 and 1970, she worked as a children's book editor for Raben & Sjogren. Her husband Sture died in 1952, and her son Lars in 1986.

Her first book, Britt-Mari Opens Her Heart was written in 1944, and her second book, Pippi Longstocking, which was written as a present for her daughter Karin's tenth birthday, was published in 1945.

There is a themepark in Sweden called Astrid Lindgren's Varld, that captures the wholesome fun of her books.

Astrid received numerous awards for her work, including the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1973, the Hans Christian Anderson Award in 1958 and the International Book Award from UNESCO in 1993. She also received honorary doctorates from several universities.

Before her death on January 28, 2002 at the age of 94, Astrid published over 100 books, starring such lovable and unique characters as Pippi Longstocking, Emil, the Brothers Lionheart and Ronja.