Helen Vatsikopoulos was born in Florina and early in her life lived in Laimos, a village in Western Macedonia, Greece.
[6] As a reporter, she worked for the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) and also hosted their Dateline current affairs program.
[7][8] Later in life, Vatsikopoulos researched her family history and for her doctorate, the topics of migration, complex ethno–linguistic identities and the Greek Civil War.
[9] In September 2011, Vatsikopoulos joined the University of Technology, Sydney and is a lecturer in Journalism and holds a Doctorate in Creative Arts (2019).
[8] In 1992, Vatsikopoulos won a Walkley Award for All Media/Best International Report for her body of work on the dissolution of the Soviet Union, for SBS's Dateline.