Nicholson was born in Los Angeles to actors Jack Nicholson and Rebecca Broussard. She was named after her father’s aunt. She has a younger brother, Raymond, as well as three older half-siblings through her father; two half-sisters, Jennifer Nicholson and Honey Hollman, and a half-brother, Caleb Goddard. She was four years old when her parents separated. In 2008, she graduated from Brentwood School in Brentwood, California.

Nicholson’s first on-screen appearance was as an extra, at the age of 13, in her father’s movie Something’s Gotta Give. In 2008, she provided the voice of Katie in animated film Fly Me to the Moon.

In May 2012, she graduated from Brown University with a degree in Literary Arts, intending on being a screenwriter. In a 2011 interview, Nicholson stated, “I love to act and I also hope to one day write and direct and create my own projects. I feel that in the film industry, especially as a woman, it’s really important to make your own luck – and create projects to give other people really strong opportunities as well as yourself.” In 2017, Nicholson was accepted into the AFI Directing Workshop for Women, a mentorship and education program geared towards female filmmaking.

In 2013, Nicholson began to foray into film directing and writing. She wrote, produced and directed a 15-minute coming-of-age drama titled The Instant Message. She later directed and wrote a short film titled This Magic Moment. In 2017, Nicholson released her third short film, Life Boat, which premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival.