The daughter of South African émigrés, she read Social Anthropology at Cambridge University.

Ruth Picardie worked as an editor and journalist for The Guardian and The Independent newspapers in the UK. She also contributed to other publications, such as the New Statesman. Her memoir of living with breast cancer,Before I Say Goodbye, was published posthumously, culled from five columns written for the Observer's magazine Life, and from her personal correspondence. These were collected and edited by her husband, Matt Seaton and her sister, Justine Picardie.

Matt Seaton, Picardie's husband, a keen competitive cyclist, is the author of The Escape Artist, which concentrates on his love of amateur cycling but also chronicled his wife's battle against breast cancer.

Ruth Picardie and Matt Seaton married in Worthing, West Sussex in 1994. They had two children, twins Joe Louis and Lola May (born 1995, Lambeth).

She died in Lambeth, London, aged 33.

Justine Picardie established the Lavender Trust in her sister Ruth's memory. The Trust focuses on raising funds and support for younger women battling breast cancer.