Early life

Born in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, Sharp completed a Bachelor of Arts with Honours at the University of Sheffield, and a Master of Arts (Political Science) at the University of Kent. She came to Western Australia in 1973, later completing a PhD

PHD

PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 at Murdoch University on politics and ethics.

In 1977, Sharp moved with her partner from the city to a farm in Balingup, where she started a local business as a tree farmer.

Sharp was a member of the Environmental Protection Authority from 1989 to 1995.

Political career

In the 1989 state election, Sharp worked for the Greens candidate for the South West Region, Louise Duxbury, on policy development.

In 1997, Sharp was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Council

Western Australian Legislative Council

The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of Western Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the Legislative Assembly. It sits in Parliament House in the state...

 as a Greens

Greens Western Australia

The Greens Western Australia is the state branch of the Australian Greens in Western Australia. The Greens WA was formed following the merger of the WA Greens and the Green Earth Alliance...

 member representing South West Region

Electoral region of South West

The electoral region of South West is a multi-member electoral region of the Western Australian Legislative Council, located in the South West, Peel and part of the Great Southern regions of the state...

. She held the seat until her retirement in 2005.