The son of F. Allin Goldsworthy (1929–2001), former professor of applied mathematics at the University of Leeds, Andy Goldsworthy was born on July 26, 1956 in Cheshire and grew up on the Harrogate side of Leeds, West Yorkshire, in a house edging the green belt. From the age of 13 he worked on farms as a labourer. He has likened the repetitive quality of farm tasks to the routine of making sculpture: "A lot of my work is like picking potatoes; you have to get into the rhythm of it."
He studied fine art at the Bradford College of Art (1974–1975) and at the Preston Polytechnic (1975–1978) (now the University of Central Lancashire) in Preston, Lancashire, receiving his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree from the latter.
After leaving college, Goldsworthy lived in Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria. In 1985 he moved to Langholm in Dumfries and Galloway, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, and a year later to Penpont. It has been said that his gradual drift northwards was "due to a way of life over which he did not have complete control", but that contributing factors were opportunities and desires to work in these areas and "reasons of economy".
In 1993 he was conferred an honorary degree by the University of Bradford. He is currently an A.D. White Professor-At-Large at Cornell University.
He is the subject of a 2001 documentary feature film Rivers and Tides, directed by Thomas Riedelsheimer.

Biographical information from Wikipedia