Sophia New was born in South London in 1974 and studied Philosophy & Literature with German at Sussex University (1993–1997) and after receiving her Masters degree in Feminist Performance at Bristol University in 1998, she made her first solo piece, Jammy Lips, which was performed at Battersea Arts Centre, London and eXpo, Nottingham in 1999.

Since 2012 she has been a guest lecturer (since 2015 Guest Professor) on the MA solo dance authorship (SODA) at the HZT, Berlin. She also regularly teaches Live Art and Performance with Siegmar Zacharias at Folkwang in Essen and Bochum.