Courtney Smith was born in Paris, France in 1966. In 1988, she received her bachelor's degree in art and comparative literature from Yale University. The following year, Smith moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she lived and worked until 2000. Inspired by the discarded furniture she saw on the streets of Rio, Smith developed a unique approach to sculpture, deconstructing furniture by manipulating, cutting, and hinging its parts to create a new object. This work often incorporates vanity tables, which are a constant motif in her art. Smith currently lives and works in New York City. She also collaborate frequently in projects with the chilean artist Iván Navarro. Courtney Smith has exhibited widely through out the United States and Brazil. She had her first solo museum show at the Chelsea Art Museum, New York in 2006.