Muriel Phan van Thiet was born in Montpellier, France and grew up in Saigon, Vietnam and in Martinique.
[6] When she was fifteen years old her mother sent her to Paris to study secretarial skills after she had dropped out of her private high school in Martinique.
[8] She was discovered by Franca Sozzani who hired her as a fashion stylist for Italian Vogue before switching to design.
[1][12] She wrote a book on interior design titled The World of Muriel Brandolini, which was published by Rizzoli in October 2011.
[16][17][5] Brandolini's retreat in Hampton Bays, New York has been featured in Architectural Digest and the lifestyle blog Quintessence.