[1][2] Karaindrou moved with her family to Athens when she was eight years old, and she studied piano and theory at the Hellenikon Odeion (Hellenic Conservatory).
During the time of the Greek military junta of 1967–1974 she lived in Paris, where she studied ethnomusicology and orchestration, and improvised with jazz musicians.
[3] Karaindrou has stated that her own personal style emerged in working on soundtracks and that the relationship between images and movements created a new space for her to express emotions.
In 1982 she won an award at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival and was noticed by Theo Angelopoulos, who was serving as president of the jury.
Recently, her compositions "Elegy for Rosa" and "Refugee's Theme" were featured prominently in the 2015 blockbuster film Mad Max: Fury Road.