Isabela Figueiredo was born in Lourenço Marques, Mozambique, in 1963, to Portuguese parents. After Mozambique gained independence in 1975, she moved to Portugal, where she earned a degree in Modern Languages and Literatures, specializing in Portuguese Studies, from the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences at the Nova University of Lisbon. She also specialized in Women's Studies at the Universidade Aberta. Isabela worked as a journalist at Diário de Notícias from 1988 to 1994, where she also served as the coordinator of the DN Youth supplement. She was a teacher of the portuguese language in High School. 

Isabela Figueiredo has written several works, including the novel Conto É Como Quem Diz, which received the first prize at the Mostra Portuguesa de Artes e Ideias. Her book Caderno de Memórias Coloniais was a finalist for the Prémio Femina Estrangeiro (Foreign Femina Prize) in its French edition. Her novel A Gorda received the Urbano Tavares Rodrigues Literary Prize. These two works have achieved great success among the public and critics, especially in Portugal and Brazil, and are constantly being reprinted. Isabela regularly writes for her blog, Novo Mundo.