Born in the United States of Norwegian origin, Hustvedt was honoured with the Princess of Asturias Award for Literature in 2019 for her literary production, ‘which influences several issues that sketch an agitated and bewildering present, from a feminist perspective’.

Feminism, along with art and science, are the three core areas on which her works are based, which have contributed to interdisciplinary dialogue between the sciences and humanities. Her fame is primarily as a novelist, although she also published a book of poetry, and short stories, and her oeuvre has been translated into over 30 languages.

She is an expert in neuroscience and psychoanalysis and has published essays and articles in numerous academic and scientific journals.