To cope with the harsh Icelandic winters, Evensen and her four older siblings practiced musical instruments and listened to their parents' record collection, which included jazz and Led Zeppelin.

[15] As a teenager, Evensen played professional volleyball but sustained a serious knee injury which led her to focus solely on her music education.

[8][19] Among her musical influences are classical composers such as Frédéric Chopin, Claude Debussy, and Ólafur Arnalds, and contemporary artists such as Philip Glass, Sigur Rós and Björk.

[13][20] Her debut performance at Iceland Airwaves Festival in 2018 caught the attention of Sony Masterworks, and she was signed to the label in November 2019.

[23][24][12] The Line of Best Fit wrote, "Evensen is hugely influenced by nature, her post-classical compositions have grown into works that are immersive, delicate and intensely emotive…she’s able to mould them into a sonic journey that’ll stick with you long after the last note is played" and Wonderland Magazine said, "Few artists are so effortlessly able to twist your heartstrings into a contortion of joy, sorrow and despair like Eydís Evensen”.

[36] Her romantic partner and frequent collaborator of several years is Icelandic film director, Einar Egils, whom she lives with in Reykjavik.

Her mother is a surgical nurse; Evensen showed an interest in biology and mathematics for an early age, intending to become a surgeon, if she had not pursued a career in music.