Ruthie Vital Gilad was born in Israel in 1963, and spent her childhood in the Philippines, England, Australia and Israel. She is a graduate of the Beit Zvi School for the Performing Arts. Gilad has worked as a reporter covering arts and culture for Israeli newspapers and as tourism correspondent for a British travel magazine. She has also translated plays. She writes books for children and youth and leads writing workshops. Her children's book "Fear of Driving in the Fast Lane" has won the 2019 Devorah Omer Prize for Children's Literature.