She was born on November 9, 1909 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She joined her husband Robert J. Braidwood, a renowned archeology professor, in several excavations in Syria and Iraq. In 1943, she received her master’s degree in archeology from the University of Chicago. As a Fulbright grantee during the 1963-64 academic year, Braidwood conducted research in the Prehistoric Archeology Program at Istanbul University. Until 1972, she took part in the Southeast Anatolia prehistoric studies joint project of Istanbul and Chicago Universities, which was directed by Prof Dr. Halet Çambel and Prof. Dr. Robert J. Braidwood. In 1964, a village belonging to an agricultural community dating from 7250-6750 B.C.E. was discovered in Çayönü (in the Ergani district of Diyarbakır). Braidwood passed away on January 15, 2003, a few hours after her husband.