Graça Simbine Machel was the only woman in modern history to have served as First Lady of two different countries: Mozambique and South Africa.

She was born on October 17, 1945, in rural Incadine, Gaza Province (then Portuguese East Africa). Graça was the youngest of six children. Her father passed away three weeks before her birth, leaving a will that stipulated she must be educated through high school, a wish fulfilled by her older siblings.

She attended Methodist mission schools and later earned a scholarship to study at the University of Lisbon in Portugal, where she majored in German and became involved in independence issues.

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In 1973, Graça joined the Marxist-based Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO), a resistance movement against Portuguese colonial rule. She worked as a teacher and underwent military training, eventually meeting Samora Machel, FRELIMO's commander.