An haifi Kathryn Sullivan a ranar 3 ga Oktoba, 1951, a jihar New Jersey, Amurka. Ta yi karatun kimiyyar duniya da ilimin ƙasa, sannan ta shiga binciken zurfin tekunan Atlantika da Pasifik.
A shekarar 1978, hukumar NASA ta zaɓe ta a matsayin ‘yar sama jannati. A irin wannan rana ta 11 ga Oktoba, 1984, ta kafa tarihi a matsayin mace ta farko ‘yar Amurka da ta yi tattaki a sararin samaniya yayin wani aikin bincike.
Sullivan ta sake shiga wasu tafiye-tafiye biyu zuwa sararin samaniya, ciki har da aikin harba na’urar hangen nesa ta Hubble a shekarar 1990 da kuma binciken yanayin sararin samaniya a shekarar 1992.
Ta bar NASA a shekarar 1993, daga baya ta riƙe muƙaman shugabanci a cibiyoyin kimiyya da hukumar NOAA mai kula da tekuna da yanayi ta Amurka. Ta kuma zama shugabar NOAA daga shekarar 2014 zuwa 2017.
A shekarar 2019, Sullivan ta wallafa littafin Handprints on Hubble, wanda ya bayyana abubuwan da ta fuskanta a aikinta na ‘yar sama jannati da gudummawar da ta bayar wajen binciken sararin samaniya.
