Trained in Bulgaria, Germany, and later Austria, she had wide acquaintance among the avant-garde literary and artistic figures in the early part of the twentieth century.

Her maternal grandfather, Georgi Valkovich was a noted surgeon and her maternal great-grandfather was Valko Kurtovic Chalakov (Bulgarian: Вълко Куртович Чалъков), a member of the Chalakov family (bg), who had been benefactors of the city of Plovdiv since the National Revival, building hospitals and churches in the city.

[2] Growing up in Sofia, Vinarova studied with the noted painter Elisaveta Konsulova-Vazova, who would later graduate from the Munich Academy of Fine Arts.

[2] In 1910, Vinarova met her future husband, Simeon Radev, when he came to interview her mother, as General Vinarov's widow, for a book he was preparing Builders of Modern Bulgaria.

Some, such as Синята църква (Blue Church, 1916), Пазар (Market, 1963), or Градина в Калофер (Garden in Kalofer) capture the landscape around her.

[5] She was well-known for her charm and during her Washington, D. C. days, created a stir when she appeared at one embassy reception in a dress with a crinoline designed in the style of the Second French Empire.

[3][5] After the Bulgarian coup d'état of 1944, both Vinarova and Radev were removed from public life and forbidden to engage in political or social activities.

[1] In 2010, her son, Traian Radev (bg) donated the family art collection containing over 740 of Vinarova's works, including 200 paintings, and 90 works from Otto Dix, Felixmüller, Obreshkov, Panayot Todorov Hristov (known as the Orphan Wanderer Bulgarian: Сирак Скитник), Konstantin Shtarkelov and others, to the Central State Archive (bg).