Singer's parents were Austrian Jews who immigrated to Australia from Vienna in 1939, after Austria's annexation by Nazi Germany.
They settled in Melbourne, where Singer was born.
Singer's father imported tea and coffee, while his mother practiced medicine.
He has an older sister, Joan (now Joan Dwyer).
His grandparents were less fortunate: his paternal grandparents were taken by the Nazis to Łódź, and never heard from again; his maternal grandfather David Ernst Oppenheim (1881–1943), a teacher, died in the Theresienstadt concentration camp.
Oppenheim was a member of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society and wrote a joint article with Sigmund Freud, before joining the Adlerian sect.
Singer later wrote a biography of Oppenheim.

Singer is an atheist, and was raised in a prosperous, happy, non-religious family.
His family rarely observed Jewish holidays, and Singer declined to have a Bar Mitzvah.
Singer attended Preshil and later Scotch College.
After leaving school, Singer studied law, history, and philosophy at the University of Melbourne, earning a bachelor's degree in 1967.
He has explained that he elected to major in philosophy after his interest was piqued by discussions with his sister's then-boyfriend.
He earned a master's degree for a thesis entitled "Why Should I Be Moral?"
at the same university in 1969.
He was awarded a scholarship to study at the University of Oxford, and obtained from there a BPhil degree in 1971, with a thesis on civil disobedience supervised by R. M. Hare and published as a book in 1973.
Singer names Hare and Australian philosopher H. J. McCloskey as his two most important mentors.
One day at Balliol College in Oxford, he had what he refers to as "probably the decisive formative experience of my life".
He was having a discussion after class with fellow graduate student Richard Keshen, a Canadian (who would later become a professor at Cape Breton University), over lunch.
Keshen opted to have a salad after being told that the spaghetti sauce contained meat.
Singer had the spaghetti.
Singer eventually questioned Keshen about his reason for avoiding meat.
Keshen explained his ethical objections.
Singer would later state, "I'd never met a vegetarian who gave such a straightforward answer that I could understand and relate to."
Keshen later introduced Singer to his vegetarian friends.
Singer was able to find one book in which he could read up on the issue (Animal Machines by Ruth Harrison) and "within a week or two" he approached his wife saying that he thought they needed to make a change to their diet, and that he did not think they could justify eating meat.

After spending three years as a Radcliffe lecturer at University College, Oxford, he was a visiting professor at New York University for 16 months.
He returned to Melbourne in 1977, where he spent most of his career, aside from appointments as visiting faculty abroad, until his move to Princeton in 1999.
In June 2011, it was announced he would join the professoriate of New College of the Humanities, a private college in London, in addition to his work at Princeton.
He also has been a regular contributor to Project Syndicate since 2001.

According to philosopher Helga Kuhse, Singer is "almost certainly the best-known and most widely read of all contemporary philosophers".
Michael Specter wrote that Singer is among the most influential of contemporary philosophers.

Since 1968, he has been married to Renata Singer; they have three children: Ruth, Marion, and Esther.
Renata Singer is a novelist and author and has collaborated on publications with her husband.
Singer's parents were Austrian Jews who immigrated to Australia from Vienna in 1939, after Austria's annexation by Nazi Germany. They settled in Melbourne, where Singer was born. Singer's father imported tea and coffee, while his mother practiced medicine. He has an older sister, Joan (now Joan Dwyer). His grandparents were less fortunate: his paternal grandparents were taken by the Nazis to Łódź, and never heard from again; his maternal grandfather David Ernst Oppenheim (1881–1943), a teacher, died in the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Oppenheim was a member of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society and wrote a joint article with Sigmund Freud, before joining the Adlerian sect. Singer later wrote a biography of Oppenheim.
Singer is an atheist, and was raised in a prosperous, happy, non-religious family. His family rarely observed Jewish holidays, and Singer declined to have a Bar Mitzvah. Singer attended Preshil and later Scotch College. After leaving school, Singer studied law, history, and philosophy at the University of Melbourne, earning a bachelor's degree in 1967. He has explained that he elected to major in philosophy after his interest was piqued by discussions with his sister's then-boyfriend. He earned a master's degree for a thesis entitled "Why Should I Be Moral?" at the same university in 1969. He was awarded a scholarship to study at the University of Oxford, and obtained from there a BPhil degree in 1971, with a thesis on civil disobedience supervised by R. M. Hare and published as a book in 1973. Singer names Hare and Australian philosopher H. J. McCloskey as his two most important mentors. One day at Balliol College in Oxford, he had what he refers to as "probably the decisive formative experience of my life". He was having a discussion after class with fellow graduate student Richard Keshen, a Canadian (who would later become a professor at Cape Breton University), over lunch. Keshen opted to have a salad after being told that the spaghetti sauce contained meat. Singer had the spaghetti. Singer eventually questioned Keshen about his reason for avoiding meat. Keshen explained his ethical objections. Singer would later state, "I'd never met a vegetarian who gave such a straightforward answer that I could understand and relate to." Keshen later introduced Singer to his vegetarian friends. Singer was able to find one book in which he could read up on the issue (Animal Machines by Ruth Harrison) and "within a week or two" he approached his wife saying that he thought they needed to make a change to their diet, and that he did not think they could justify eating meat.
After spending three years as a Radcliffe lecturer at University College, Oxford, he was a visiting professor at New York University for 16 months. He returned to Melbourne in 1977, where he spent most of his career, aside from appointments as visiting faculty abroad, until his move to Princeton in 1999. In June 2011, it was announced he would join the professoriate of New College of the Humanities, a private college in London, in addition to his work at Princeton. He also has been a regular contributor to Project Syndicate since 2001.
According to philosopher Helga Kuhse, Singer is "almost certainly the best-known and most widely read of all contemporary philosophers". Michael Specter wrote that Singer is among the most influential of contemporary philosophers.
Since 1968, he has been married to Renata Singer; they have three children: Ruth, Marion, and Esther. Renata Singer is a novelist and author and has collaborated on publications with her husband.
Peter Singer