She grew up in country Victoria and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts from Monash University. She also received qualifications from Swinburne University (multimedia) and the University of Tasmania (information management). She currently resides in Hobart, Tasmania. Madeleine Rosca is best known for her all-ages manga, Hollow Fields, which is published by Seven Seas Entertainment. She was singled out for special mention in a November 2007 article in Wired on the history of manga in America.

Rosca has published three volumes on her award winning series Hollow Fields.

Rosca was one of four winners presented with Japan's inaugural "International Manga Award" for her work on Hollow Fields.