Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir was born in Akureyri in 1963. She studied at the Akureyri School of Fine Arts, the Icelandic School of Arts and Crafts from 1984-87, studied icon painting at a monastery in Rome, Italy, from 1987-88, and graduated from the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence from 1988-94.

Kristín has worked exclusively in fine art, having held numerous solo exhibitions and participated in group exhibitions, both at home and abroad.

Her work is diverse in technique but is based on the classical tradition of painting. She works with drawing, painting on paper and canvas, egg tempera on wood with gold leaf, and embroidered works on canvas.

Kristín's work is owned by the country's major public museums, as well as a number of companies and private individuals. Kristín has also been a part-time teacher at the Reykjavík School of Fine Arts and the Iceland Academy of the Arts since 2016. She has received various awards for her art and was awarded the Order of the Falcon in 2018 for her contribution to art.