Edith Starrett Green was born in January 1910 in South Dakota, and came to Oregon with her family in 1916. She attended school in Roseburg, Oregon, and Salem, Oregon, and then studied at Willamette University in Salem and the University of Oregon in Eugene. During the 1930s, she taught school in Salem.

In 1952, Green ran for Oregon secretary of state, but was defeated by Earl T. Newbury. In 1954, she successfully ran against Tom McCall for U.S. representative of Oregon's 3rd Congressional District. During her tenure in Congress, Green served on the Education and Labor Committee, drafted legislation to equalize pay between men and women, was a supporter of civil rights legislation, and was an early opponent of American military involvement in Vietnam. She retired from the House of Representatives in 1974, and subsequently taught at Warner Pacific College in Portland, and served on the Oregon Board of Higher Education.

She married Arthur N. Green in 1933. The couple had two sons, James and Richard, and divorced in 1963. Edith Green died in April 1987.