Early collector of artists' biographies; rhetorician; notary. De Bie was born in the city of Lier near Antwerp in 1627. His father, Adrianus, was a painter. Since De Bie called himself a philosopher, it may be assumed that he studied philosophy, possibly at the University of Louvain. He had a broad knowledge of languages, including Latin, Italian, and Spanish. He married twice. His first wife, Elisabeth Smith, died in 1662 in an accident. She left him with four children. Four more children were born out of his second marriage to Isabella Caelheyt (died 1706).