Born Sheila Gail Block in Philadelphia, she grew up in Norwalk and Westport, Connecticut. She studied art at the Tyler School of Fine Arts, the School of Visual Arts and New York University, where she earned a bachelor's degree with honor in Art Education. After graduation, she attended Le Cordon Bleu in London, England, while working in graphic design. Her culinary education continued in France, where she worked alongside Michelin-starred chefs in Bordeaux.

In 1977 she returned to New York City and, with friend Julee Rosso, opened and ran a gourmet food shop in New York City called The Silver Palate at the corner of Columbus Avenue and 73rd Street. In the 1980s they wrote, with Michael McLaughlin, The Silver Palate Cookbook, which broke cookbook records by selling 250,000 copies in its first year and went on to sell 2.5-million copies, followed by The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook, and others. In 1986, she replaced Julia Child as the food editor for Parade.

After 11 years working together, Rosso and Lukins split up in the 1990s in a widely-reported feud. The Silver Palate shop, which had been sold to new owners in 1988, closed its doors in 1993, although a brand of sauces and condiments bearing its name continues to be sold. During this period Lukins published her own successful series of books including Sheila Lukins' All Round the World Cookbook and Celebrate! In 2007 she reunited with Rosso to publish a new 25th-anniversary edition of The Silver Palate Cookbook.

In December, 1991, she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage which paralyzed most of her left side and nearly took her life. Some after-effects lasted for the rest of her life, but she was able to recover sufficiently to resume her position at Parade and to continue to write books.

She was married for many years to Richard Lukins, a security systems expert, and they had two daughters, Annabel and Molly.

In June 2009, she was diagnosed with brain cancer, and died of the disease on August 30, 2009, at her home in Manhattan, at age 66, surrounded by her children.

with Julee Rosso

• The Silver Palate Cookbook, 1979
• The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook, 1984 (Winner of the James Beard award in the "Entertaining" category in 1986)
• The New Basics Cookbook, 1989
• Silver Palate Desserts, 1995

By Sheila Lukins

• Sheila Lukins' All Round the World Cookbook, 1994
• USA Cookbook, 1997
• Celebrate!, 2003
• Ten: all the foods we love and ten perfect recipes for each, 2008