 Elizabeth Helen Blackburn, one of seven children, was born in Hobart, Tasmania, on 26 November 1948 to parents who were both family physicians.Her family moved to the city of Launceston when she was four, where she attended the Broadland House Church of England Girls' Grammar School (later amalgamated with Launceston Church Grammar School) until the age of sixteen.Upon her family's relocation to Melbourne, she attended University High School, and ultimately gained very high marks in the end-of-year final statewide matriculation exams.