Born at Warrnambool Victoria, Isabella was educated at the universities of Melbourne and Glasgow. In 1916 she married John Ross and they were to have one son who died on active service in New Guinea.

Isabella worked as a Clinical Assistant at the Queen Victoria, Royal Women's and Children's hospitals. Actively involved with infant welfare she helped establish the first Victorian baby clinic at Richmond in June 1917 and became a central figure in the Victorian Baby Health Centres Association.

A member of the Melbourne Lyceum, Isabella Ross was president from 1938 until 1940. A plaque commemorating her can be found at the Queen Elizabeth Maternal and Child Welfare Centre, Carlton.

Sources used to compile this entry: Alexander, Joseph A (ed.), Who's who in Australia 1950, 14th edn, The Herald, Melbourne, 1950, 816 pp; Hutton Neve, M, This Mad Folly: The History of Australia's Women Doctors, Library of Australian History, Sydney, 1980, 174 pp.