Raised in Glen Rock, New Jersey (United States), Chevalier attended St Lawrence University in upstate New York. After moving to Australia in 1965, she completed an MA in Literature at Sydney University and a second MA in Writing at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Chevalier has taught English, ceramics, and art, recorded with The River Road Poetry Series, and most recently has taught poetry and short story workshops at the New South Wales Writers Centre, South Coast Writers’ Centre, Central Coast Poetry Group, Gloucester Poetry Group and the Sydney WEA . Art and photography are re-occurring themes in her writing.