Born on 6 December 1982, Wolff is the daughter of John and Sally Stoddart. Her parents owned a motorcycle dealership in Oban, and her father competed in motorcycle racing. Her parents met when her mother purchased her first motorcycle from her father's shop. Wolff was raised in Oban alongside her older brother, David, where the open landscape facilitated early experiences with biking and go-karting.
Wolff's interest in professional racing was solidified at age 13 after attending a Formula 3 race. Although she enrolled at the University of Edinburgh to study international business, she left after one year to pursue a professional racing career.
Wolff began karting at age eight. Between 1996 and 1999, she was named the British Woman Kart Racing Driver of the year four consecutive times. Her karting career peaked in 2000 when she placed 15th in the Formula A World Championships and was named the Top Female Kart Driver in the world.
In 2001, she transitioned to single-seaters in the Formula Renault Winter Series with Motaworld Racing. By 2003, she finished ninth overall in the Formula Renault UK Championship, earning a maiden podium and a nomination as a finalist for the BRDC McLaren Autosport Young Driver of the Year Award. In 2004, racing for Comtec Racing, she finished fifth in the championship standings with three podium finishes.
Wolff moved to the British Formula 3 Championship in 2005 with Alan Docking Racing, though her season was hampered by an ankle injury sustained during the winter. In 2006, she transitioned to touring cars, joining the DTM with Mücke Motorsport to drive a 2004-spec Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe.
After two seasons with Mücke, she joined Persson Motorsport in 2008. Her most successful DTM campaign occurred in 2010, where she secured two seventh-place finishes at Lausitz and the Hockenheimring. She concluded that season with four points, placing 13th in the Drivers' Championship. She remained with Persson Motorsport until the end of 2012, when she retired from the series to focus on her role with Williams.
In April 2012, Williams signed Wolff as a development driver. Her role expanded in 2014, leading to her participation in free practice (FP1) at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. This marked the first time a female driver had taken part in a Formula One weekend since Giovanna Amati in 1992. Although an engine issue limited her to one timed lap at Silverstone, she returned for FP1 at the German Grand Prix, finishing 15th out of 22 drivers, two-tenths of a second behind teammate Felipe Massa.
Promoted to test driver for the 2015 season, Wolff participated in pre-season testing and Friday practice sessions at the Spanish and British Grands Prix. At the 2015 British Grand Prix, she placed 13th out of 20 cars.
On 4 November 2015, Wolff announced her retirement from competitive motorsport, stating she had gone as far as she could. Her final competitive appearance took place at the 2015 Race of Champions in London. Representing Team Scotland alongside David Coulthard, she was eliminated in the first round of the Drivers' Cup by Coulthard and exited the Nations' Cup following a loss to Alex Buncombe.
Following her driving career, Wolff moved into team management. In 2018, she became the Team Principal and a shareholder of Venturi Racing in Formula E. Under her leadership, the team achieved its most successful season in 2020–21, with driver Edoardo Mortara finishing second in the World Championship. Wolff was promoted to CEO of Venturi in November 2021, a role she held until August 2022.
In March 2023, she was appointed managing director of F1 Academy, an all-female racing category. She also served as an analyst for Channel 4's Formula One coverage starting in 2016 and became a brand ambassador for Mercedes, where she was among the first to test the Mercedes-AMG One.
Wolff was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2017 for services to women in sport. She received an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Edinburgh in 2013 and the Icon Award from the Vital Voices foundation in April 2026. In 2016, she co-founded Dare to be Different, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing female participation in motorsport, which later merged with the FIA Girls on Track initiative.
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