Emily Bourne Grigsby (1992-2020) was born in Lexington, Kentucky, to Morton Humphrey Bourne (1869-1953), attorney and founder of the University of Kentucky School of Law, and Isabel Rebecca Hunt Bourne (1885-1935). Her father raised her in Owenton, Kentucky, after her mother died when she was 13. In 1942 Emily married Paul Grigsby (1911-2006). The Grigsbys moved to California where Emily became the youngest chorus member for the San Francisco Opera. The Georgia Institute of Technology rejected her college application because she was a woman, so she attended Mills College in California where she pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. After receiving her degree, she worked at a psychology clinic administering tests. In 1945, the Grigsbys moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where she worked as a runway and print model for department stores, including Rich's, for 15 years. In the early 1960s she began painting and her work was shown in galleries throughout the United States and France. Grigsby and her husband became licensed pilots during this time.

In 1974, Grigsby earned her Master of Science in City Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She then earned her law degree from Woodrow Wilson College of Law in 1982. She was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 1986 and practiced as an arbitrator for the National Association of Securities Directors (NASD) and as a mediator for the Justice Center of Atlanta. During these years, she also studied art at the Atlanta College of Art. She served on the Board of Directors for the Possible Women Foundation and the Partnership Against Domestic Violence. As a philanthropist, Grigsby supported several organizations such as Kennesaw State University, the Shepherd Center, and the Atlanta History Center, where she provided funding for exhibitions, including Any Great Change and Fashion in Good Taste. She was also a past president of the Atlanta Music Club and the Atlanta Women's Club. She published her autobiography, A Hole in My Soul, in 2004.