Anne Newport was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on June 11, 1769. As a child, she lived with her parents in western Pennsylvania until the death of her father and the family's impoverishment led the young Newport and her mother to move to western Virginia. The two women eventually became servants in the home of William Royall, in what is today Mineral County, West Virginia. In November, 1797, Anne Newport and William Royall were married. During the years of her marriage, Anne Royall educated herself and became well read.

William Royall died in 1812. A will, leaving nearly his entire estate to the use of his wife during her widowhood, was contested by relatives. The court originally upheld the will in 1817, but on appeal, a jury annulled the will in 1819.

From 1817 to 1825, Anne Royall toured Alabama and other places in the South and wrote of her travels. After spending some time in Washington, D. C., petitioning for a widow's pension for her late husband's Revolutionary War service, she continued traveling in New England and other northern states for several years, continuing to make notes and take subscriptions for books. She would eventually publish ten books about her travels. Her one novel, The Tennessean was published in 1827. Royall's unsentimental style, her willingness to expose corruption, and her controversial views on issues of the day earned her some powerful enemies. She was convicted in Washington, D. C. on the charge of being a "public nuisance, a common brawler and a common scold" and fined $10 in 1829. Royall published two Washington newspapers, Paul Pry (1831-1836) and The Huntress (1836-1854), both devoted to exposing fraud and corruption. She has been called the first professional woman journalist in the United States.

Anne Royall died on October 1, 1854, and was buried in Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D. C.