Simon Michael Schama was born on 13 February 1945 in Marylebone, London. His mother, Gertie (née Steinberg), was from an Ashkenazi Jewish family originally from Kaunas, present-day Lithuania, and his father, Arthur Schama, was of Sephardi Jewish background from Smyrna (present-day İzmir, Turkey), later moving through Moldova and Romania. In the mid-1940s, the family moved to Southend-on-Sea in Essex before moving back to London.

In 1956, Schama won a scholarship to Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School. He then studied history at Christ’s College, Cambridge, learning from the famous historian J.H. Plumb, and finished his studies at Cambridge in 1966 with top honours. From 1966 to 1976, Schama was a teacher and director of studies in history at Christ’s College, Cambridge. He then moved to Oxford University in 1976, becoming a fellow at Brasenose College.

He is perhaps best known for writing and hosting the BBC’s 15-part documentary series A History of Britain (2000–2002) and for other notable series including The American Future: A History (2008) and The Story of the Jews (2013). In 1995, he became art critic for The New Yorker, a position he held for three years while also fulfilling his professorial duties at Columbia University.

Simon Schama is a Professor of Art History and History at Columbia University in New York City. His wife also teaches at Columbia, specialising in genetics and development. He currently resides in Briarcliff Manor, New York, where he continues his work as a professor, writer, and art historian.