He was born into a poor farming family in Lipovăț, Vaslui County, a village in the Moldavia region of Romania.

In the fall of 1924 he decided to go back and study at the Mihail Kogălniceanu High School [ro] in Vaslui; he became interested in art, culture, and poetry and began to write.

He then studied from 1929 to 1932 at the Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in Iași, after which he moved to Bârlad, where he wanted to establish himself as a theater actor.

In 1934, with help from poet Mihai Codreanu, who taught at his old university and offered himself as a mentor, Ciubotărașu secured a job at the Conservatory theater in Iași.

In 1964 he was awarded the Order of Culture of Merit as People's Artist of the Romanian People's Republic "for outstanding work in the field of theater, music and visual arts" and in 1967 for "a lasting and outstanding achievement in dramatic art in the theater".