Monica Englund was born in 1935 in Sundsvall and grew up in Skellefteå. She is currently based and active in Gothenburg. She was educated at Berghs School of Communication in Stockholm (1954–1956) and the School of Photography in Gothenburg.

Englund is represented in the collections of numerous museums, municipalities, and regional councils, including Public Art Agency Sweden (Statens konstråd), Moderna Museet in Stockholm, the Museum of Work (Arbetets museum) in Norrköping, the Gothenburg Museum of Art, and the Hasselblad Center in Gothenburg, as well as Malmö Museum, Norrköping Museum, Sundsvall Museum, the County Museum of Västernorrland in Härnösand, the City of Gothenburg, and the municipalities of Södertälje, Härnösand, Tjörn, and Örebro.