Working at the intersection of design, art, and craft, Fonnesberg Schmidt was born in Denmark, but her creative career began in Japan, where she first studied ceramics. She continued her education back in Copenhagen at the Danish School of Design (now the Royal Danish Academy), where she honed her skills with porcelain and began a successful career as a studio potter. Over the years, her work has been featured in numerous galleries and museum exhibitions and is notably represented in the collections of institutions including Trapholt Museum for Modern Art and Design and Designmuseum Denmark.