Ruth Bader Ginsberg (nee Joan Ruth Bader) was born in 1933 in Brooklyn. She attended Cornell University, the Columbia Law School, graduating in 1957, then earning an LL.B.
Bader married tax attorney Martin D. Ginsberg in 1954. They have two children.
Bader Ginsberg worked as a law clerk, then for the Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure, then became a law professor at Rutgers University from 1963-1972, and Columbia Law School from 1972-1980. She was the first tenured female law professor at Columbia, and co-authored the first law case book on sexual discrimination.
Bader Ginsberg also worked as chief litigator for the ACLU women's rights project, arguing in front of the Supreme Court several times. In 1980, she was appointed by President Carter to the District of Columbia United States Court of Appeals. In 1993, she was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Clinton.
Bader Ginsberg was only the second woman ever on the Supreme Court, and after the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor last year, she is its only female member.
Bader Ginsberg is generally regarded as a "liberal" judge, and she has been consistent on the need to protect women's rights, including abortion rights.
Sources:
Wikipedia
Infoplease
Supreme Court Official Biography