Christo and Jeanne-Claude were a married couple who created environmental works of art. Christo was born on 13 June 1935 in Bulgaria as Christo Vladimirov Javacheff, while Jeanne-Claude was born on the same date in Morocco as Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon. They have been collaborating for over 40 years and were best known for producing enormous packaging projects including parks, buildings, and entire outdoor landscapes.  

Christo studied art at the Sofia Academy from 1953 to 1956 and went to Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic), until 1957, when he left for the West. Jeanne-Claude earned a baccalaureate in Latin and philosophy in 1952 from the University of Tunis. In 1958, Christo moved to Paris, where he met Jeanne-Claude when he was commissioned to paint a portrait of her mother. In 1962, the couple tackled their first monumental project, Rideau de Fer (Iron Curtain) without consent of authorities and as a statement against the Berlin Wall, which made Christo and Jeanne-Claude known in Paris. Their major accomplishments afterwards include 5,600 Cubicmeter Package in documenta IV in Kassel from 1967 to 1968; the Wrapped Coast of One Million Square Feet in Little Bay inn Sydney, Australia from 1968 to 1969; Valley Curtain in Rifle, Colorado from 1970 to 1972; Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin Counties in California from 1972 to 1976; Wrapped Walk Ways, in Jacob Loose Park in Kansas City, Missouri from 1977 to 1978; Surrounded Islands in Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida from 1980 to 1983; The Pont Neuf Wrapped in Paris from 1975 to 1985; The Umbrellas, in Japan and in USA from 1984 to 1991; Wrapped Reichstag in Berlin from 1971to 1995; Wrapped Trees in Fondation Beyeler and Berower Park, Riehen, Switzerland from 1997 to 1998; The Gates in Central Park, New York City from 1979 to 2005; Big Air Package in Gasometer Oberhausen, Germany from 2010 to 2013. Believing that people should have intense and memorable experiences of art outside the institution of the museum, Christo typically creates temporary wrappings—generally lasting several weeks—on a vast scale.

Jeanne-Claude died, aged 74, on November 18, 2009, from complications of a brain aneurysm, while Christo continued working on their projects.