Born in South London, Boty is considered co-founder of the British Pop Art movement. In 1954 she won a scholarship to Wimbledon Art School. In 1958, a student at the Royal College of Art, she associated with Peter Blake, David Hockney, Derek Boshier and Peter Philips. In 1957 she exhibited with Robyn Denny, Richard Smith and Bridget Riley in The Young Contemporaries. In 1962 she started her career as an actress, With some of them, Boty took part in Pop Goes the Easel, Ken Russell's film for the BBC arts magazine programme Monitor. She also had minor acting roles. She was 're-discovered' by David Mellor who included her work in his seminal exhibition at the Barbican in 1993 The Sixties Art Scene in London - the first time it had been exhibited in nearly 30 years. Recognizing her proto-feminist importance he described her diptych It's a Man's World I and II as 'one of the most important paintings produced 'in London in the decade'.
