Nancy Marguerite Farriss was born on May 23, 1938. She specializes in the colonial history of Mexico, and completed her doctorate from
University College London in 1965, after she earned a B.A. at
Barnard College. This was followed by brief posts at the
University of the West Indies, Jamaica and the
College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. In 1971 she was appointed as Associate Professor of History at the
University of Pennsylvania and continued there for the rest of her career, becoming Annenberg Professor of History in 1990. She is now professor emerita. ==Awards==