Born in Arizona, Thiebaud has spent most of his life in California, including earning a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts from California State University, Sacramento. He went on to have a long career teaching at the University of California, Davis, where he has influenced generations of artists.
Though often associated with Pop Art for his consumeristic subject matter, Thiebaud's thick, layered application of paint sets him apart from other pop artists like Andy Warhol, who emphasized clean, almost manufactured works of art. Thiebaud's interest in the shapes and forms in his compositions, as well as his painting technique, aligns him with the Abstract Expressionists that were his friends and contemporaries.