Maria Farantouri was born in Athens in 1947. Participating in the choir of The Society of Greek Music, she understood that she wanted to follow singing as a way of life.

In 1963 composer Mikis Theodorakis heard her singing with the choir and invited her to join his ensemble. This led to a time of great creative and social awakening for Farantouri, who along with Theodorakis' culturally and politically left-leaning work, helped popularize the writing of many important Greek poets.

From 1967 to 1974, she was forced into exile. During this time, she and Theodorakis made several protest recordings in Europe and expanded their work to included the writing of Bertolt Brecht and Spanish composer Carlos Puebla, as well as many Greek composers including Eleni Karaindrou and Mikalis Bourboulis. Also during this period she released the anti-fascist recording "Mauthausen Cycle" a work by Theodorakis. Often referred to as a hymn to human rights, the cycle would become one of Farantouri's signature recordings.

After returning to Greece in 1974, Farantouri resumed her successful recording career and began to expand her sound in a variety of directions, including jazz.

Never wavering from her political views, she was elected to the Greek Parliament and served from 1989 to 1993.

She continued to record from the mid-'90s onward and released albums in various styles, even including a collection of George Gershwin standards in 2007. While she most often performs works by Greek writers and composers, Farantouri continues to expand herself creatively and can interpret nearly any style of music in her own unique way.

In 2011, she appeared on the live album Athens Concert with jazz saxophonist Charles Lloyd and his quartet.