Antonelli is the Senior Curator of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, where she also serves as the founding Director of Research and Development.

She attended and graduated from the Politecnico di Milano University in Milan, from which she received a laurea degree in architecture in 1990.

She has also contributed articles to publications such as the Harvard Design Magazine, Metropolis, I.D., Paper, Metropolitan Home, Harper's Bazaar, and Nest.

[citation needed] From 1991 to 1993, Antonelli was a lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she taught design history and theory.

The first important exhibition at the museum curated by Antonelli opened in 1995 and was titled Mutant Materials in Contemporary Design.

[7] Together with Jamer Hunt, Antonelli established an installation entitled Design and Violence which focuses on the physical representation of some of humanity's most prominent features, such as sex, aggression, and smelliness.

", an exhibition that explores 111 items of clothing and accessories that have had a strong impact on the world in the 20th and 21st centuries[9] and taught a related massive open online course (MOOC) titled Fashion as Design.

[14] She was recognized with an AIGA Medal in 2015 for "expanding the influence of design in everyday life by sharing fresh and incisive observations and curating provocative exhibitions at MoMA".

[16] She also received honorary degrees from Kingston University in London, ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, and Pratt Institute in New York.