Michael Cunningham was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and grew up in California. He received his B.A. in English literature from Stanford University and his M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Iowa. His novel A Home at the End of the World was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 1990 to wide acclaim. A film version was directed by Michael Mayer, and featured Colin Farrell, Robin Wright Penn, Dallas Roberts and Sissy Spacek.

Flesh and Blood (FSG), another novel, followed in 1995 and is currently being adapted into a miniseries for Showtime.

In 1999 he received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award for his novel The Hours (FSG). A film adaptation of The Hours was directed by Stephen Daldry, and featured Julianne Moore, Nicole Kidman, and Meryl Streep.