Sheila James was born in England and raised in Nova Scotia. Trained in music, she has performed and composed for stage and various media. She has released a recording of original children's songs, Radio K.I.D.S. Her performance art character and alter ego, Jimmy Susheel, has graced the stage of many festivals from Desh Pardesh (Toronto) to Women in View (Vancouver). Inspired by art and social justice, James has facilitated numerous "theatre of the oppressed" workshops.

She has founded two community arts theatre groups: The Rice Girls and Stree Theatre. She has written several stage plays, including All Whispers / No Words and A Canadian Monsoon, which were produced by Company of Sirens, the latter in association with Theatre Passe Muraille. She has created and collaborated on four videos: She's a Diva, Unmapping Desire, Lakme Takes Flight and Orphan Dyke, and authored one screenplay, Erased, which have all been screened internationally to acclaim. The award-winning Unmapping Desire has been translated into French and German and broadcast by ZDF in Europe. James' poetry and short fiction have been published in various anthologies and journals. Sheila holds a BA (Honours) in Music from York University and an MFA in Creative Writing and Theatre from the University of British Columbia. She currently lives in Ottawa.