Christopher Makos was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, grew up in California, and moved to New York after high school. He studied architecture in Paris and briefly worked as an apprentice to Man Ray.
Andy Warhol, Makos' good friend and frequent portrait subject, called Makos "the most modern photographer in America." His “Altered Image” portrait of Warhol is in the permanent collection of The National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C. Makos’ photographs have been exhibited in galleries and museums, including The Metropolitan Museum, New York, The Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, The Tate Modern, London, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, the IVAM, Valencia (Spain), and The Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid.