Born in 1977 in Adelaide, South Australia, Nicole Ayliffe received her Bachelor of Visual Arts with honors from the South Australian School of Art in 2005. She has also participated in the Scott Chaseling Blowing Fused Glass Workshop (2005) and the Alasdair Gordon Engraving Masterclass (2010).

Ayliffe has received solo exhibitions at Beaver Galleries, Canberra; the Glassery, Stockholm; and Sabbia Gallery, Sydney. Her work is in the public collections of the Parliament House Art Collection, Canberra; Glasmuseum, Alter Hof Herding, Coesfeld, Germany; National Glass Collection, Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, Australia; and College of Fine Arts, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China.

Ayliffe spends her free time swimming, surfing, and hiking, activities she often references in her work.