Annie Campbell Higgins was born and raised in the Chicago area. After receiving a BA in geography from Northwestern University, she entered the University of Chicago's Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC) in 1988 and graduated with a PhD in Islamic thought in 2001, having been awarded the prestigious Stuart Tave Award in the Humanities. During this period, she taught Arabic language and several Middle Eastern subjects at the University of Chicago, Loyola University, the University of Illinois in Chicago, the College of William and Mary, and the University of Florida. After graduation she held tenure-track positions in Arabic literature and language at Wayne State University and then at the College of Charleston. The key to Annie's academic career was her love of and commitment to the study of Arabic language and culture. Even before entering NELC, she had spent a year in Egypt (1985–86) studying Arabic and making a point of mixing with Egyptians, learning about their culture and speaking their dialect with enthusiasm.