Born in Germany. Horton was educated in architecture and city planning. She graduated with a Diplom-Ingenieur from the Technological University of Berlin, Germany, 1965, and with a Master of City and Regional Planning from University of California, Berkeley, 1979. She has work experience in private, institutional and municipal planning departments. She was a planner with the Planning Department of the City and County of San Francisco, California, from 1983 to 1998.

She has held leadership positions in both the Organization of Women Architects and Design Professionals (OWA) and the International Archive of Women in Architecture (IAWA).

Her publications include several articles and two books in collaboration with Monica Hennig-Schefold on "Early Modern Architecture in Berlin" (1967) and "Structure and Decoration: Art Nouveau Architecture in Paris and Brussels" (1971). Horton also published a book on "Early Women Architects of the San Francisco Bay Area: The Lives and Work of Fifty Professionals, 1890-1951" (2010).