Inga Sempé was born in Paris in 1968. She inherited a talent for drawing from her parents. Her father is the French illustrator Jean-Jacques Sempé (whose work has appeared on more than 70 of New Yorker covers) and mother, the danish painter and illustrator Mette Ivers-Sempé. She began her career in design at ENSCI-les Ateliers (Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle), Paris, graduating in 1993. Since then she focusses on the design of furniture, lighting, objects and fabrics. In 2000, she opened her own design firm. Inga Sempé went on to achieve acclaim, being named a Pensionnaire de la Villa Medicis (Académie de France), Rome, in 2000 and 2001. Awarded the Grand Prix de la Création en design de la Ville de Paris, 2003, she has since worked with Cappellini, Edra, Ligne Roset, Magis, Baccarat, Pallucco, David Design, among others.