Born in Viseu, in 1951,  Cristina Ataíde graduated in Sculpture at ESBAL and attended the Equipment Design course at the same institution.

She was the Production Director of Sculpture and Design of Madeira from 1987 to 1996. She currently lives and works in Lisbon. Installation became the predominant genre of her work. Since 1984 she exhibits individually.

She has won several artistic awards and is represented in several public and private collections, such as the Modern Art Center of the Gulbenkian Foundation, Caixa Geral de Depósitos and Banco Espírito Santo.