Cristina Serafini was born in Turin, Italy, the only child of a housewife and a pizza maker. She soon decided to pursue an acting career and won a scholarship to attend the prestigious Scuola del Teatro Stabile di Torino (Union of the Theatres of Europe), founded by the Italian director Luca Ronconi.

She speaks Italian, English, French and Spanish. Serafini has appeared in 29 films and television series since the early 2000s (decade), including: Il Divo (film), Colpo d'occhio, Il bene e il male, Il peccato e la vergogna and Valzer, which was screened at the 64th Venice International Film Festival. Serafini made her film début in the 2006 film Sono tornato al nord.