Friesen was raised on a farm west of Winnipeg; her parents were nonobservant
Mennonites. Her father had her work on the farm, and she learned how to drive a tractor when she was six. Her mother was active in local politics. She moved with her family to St. Albert, Alberta and graduated from Paul Kane High School in 1981. She then moved back to Manitoba to attend
Red River College and worked as a waitress when she was young. Friesen graduated from RRC's Creative Communications program in 1984, and began her journalism career working in Brandon, Saskatoon, Thunder Bay and Winnipeg. She re-married on July 28, 2018, to
Rick Anderson after she divorced
Tom Kennedy. ==Awards==