Born in the SW corner of West Australia from Dutch parents Peggy left for Perth in her teens to study fine arts and education before gravitating to music. Soon her yearnings to play her original songs with others lead her to co-found "Martha's Vineyard" who quickly created a buzz and recorded their eponymous album for rooArt on Polygram. Later Peggy released a number of solo albums and currently is based on the mid-north coast of NSW where she continues to write and perform with her own band including Geoff Nant on percussion, Sandra Kwa on keys and Hugh Cowley on violin.
van Zalm has sited her musical influences as including Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Elton John, Cocteau Twins, Talking Heads, Linda Ronstadt, Joan Baez, Joan Armatrading and Ricki-Lee Jones.