[1] Skármeta was born in Antofagasta to a family of Croatian descent, originating from the Adriatic island of Brač, Dalmatia.

Skármeta gained international recognition for his 1985 novel Ardiente paciencia ("Burning Patience"), which later inspired the 1994 Academy Award-winning film Il Postino (The Postman).

Following the military coup that brought General Augusto Pinochet to power, he left Chile, living in Buenos Aires and later West Berlin.

Skármeta returned to Chile in 1989, after the end of Pinochet's dictatorship, with the intention of promoting political and cultural freedom.

He became the host of a television program on literature and the arts, which garnered a significant following, regularly attracting over a million viewers.