An American designer and artist Maya Lin was born on October 5, 1959 in Athens, Ohio. After her parents migrated to the United States from China in 1949 and settled in Ohio in 1958, one year before Maya Lin was born. Her father, Henry Huan Lin, was a ceramist and former dean of the Ohio University College of Fine Arts. She is the niece of Lin Huiyin, who is said to be the first female architect in China. Lin Juemin, one of the 72 martyrs of the Second Guangzhou Uprising was a cousin of her grandfather.

Turning slightly to her personal life, Lin studied at Yale University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1981 and a Master of Architecture degree in 1986. She has also been awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Yale University, Harvard University, Williams College, and Smith College. She was among the youngest at Yale University to receive an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts in 1987.

Furthermore, at present Lin has been married to Daniel Wolf, a New York photography dealer. In their family, they have two daughters, India and Rachel. Till the date there is no any issue related to her marriage life. She is really happy in her married life and has been enjoying her life at fullest.

Lin is the youngest of her generation, and has an older brother, Tan A. Lin, an English professor and poet. Growing up, she did not have many friends and stayed home a lot. She loved school and loved to study. When she was not studying, she took independent courses from Ohio University and spent her free time casting bronzes in the school foundry. Lin, having grown up as an Asian minority, has said that she "didn't even realize" she was Chinese until later in life, and that it was not until her 30s that she had a desire to understand her cultural background. Commenting on her design of a new home for the Museum of Chinese in America near New York City's Chinatown, Lin attached a personal significance to the project being a Chinese-related project because she wanted her two daughters to "know that part of their heritage."