Born in Berlin, Germany. King is an architect and professor who has practiced in Germany, the United States, and the Bahamas. She graduated from the Hochschule fur Bildende Kunste (HBK) with the title 'Diplom Architect HBK Berlin' in 1962. Upon graduating from HBK she worked for two years (1962-1964) in the architectural office of Dipl. Ing. Hilde Westrom, one of the few independently working women architects in Berlin. King would go on to receive the Airlift Memorial Scholarship and Fulbright Travel Grant allowing her to study under Louis I. Kahn in his Master Studio at the University of Pennsylvania (1965-1967). Her experiences with Kahn would greatly influence her own style of teaching at the Pratt Institute School of Architecture (1969-1981) and other organizations.

King and her husband, fellow architect Douglas King, were offered the opportunity to work as architects with the Government of the Bahamas in Nassau (1981-1985). There she primarily worked on projects for the Ministries of Health and Housing including: public rental units with a senior citizen complex, design for a high school library in Cooperstown, and as project architect and head construction supervisor for the Bahamas Nursing School. 1985-1991 saw King commuting between New York, Nassau, and Florida as she finished supervising the Bahamas Nursing School and partnered with her husband on a design-build company called Kingston Homes in West Palm Beach, Florida. Shortly after returning to New York full-time (1991) King began teaching at several New York institutions and public schools within the city (1993-2008).