Virginia Frances Sterrett was an American illustrator and artist, best known for her richly detailed illustrations of classic fairy tales and myths. After the early death of her father, she grew up in modest circumstances and was forced to leave her studies at the Art Institute of Chicago when her mother fell ill. At just nineteen years old, she received her first major commission—to illustrate Old French Fairy Tales—while also being diagnosed with tuberculosis.

Despite recurring illness, Sterrett created illustrations for Old French Fairy Tales, Tanglewood Tales, and Arabian Nights, works that are now regarded as some of the finest examples of early twentieth-century book illustration. Her distinctive style combines Art Nouveau influences with a vivid sense of fantasy, intricate patterns, and decorative forms. She died in California in 1931 at the age of just thirty.