Born in Paris to a movie-director father and an actress mother, at age 15 she was sent to study at a specialized arts high school, after which she attended the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts of Paris.

At age 18 she obtained a small role in the small independent film Liberty Belle. While trying to build her career over the next five years, she worked as a clerk at a Paris department store and as a painter's model.

She was 24 when she received her first big break with a role in Philip Kaufman's film The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Her performance brought much praise and the offer of leading roles including in Three Colors: Blue, part one of Krzysztof Kieślowski's acclaimed Three Colors trilogy, for which she won the 1993 Cesar Award for best actress. In addition, she has been nominated for the Cesar Award for Best Actress a further five times during her career.

In 1996 her role as Hana, a Canadian nurse tending to a wounded stranger during World War II, in the blockbuster film The English Patient, brought her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, in an upset over expected winner Lauren Bacall whose seniority the Academy chose to overlook. Onstage, Binoche said "I don't have a speech prepared. I thought Lauren would get it"

In 2000, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her starring role in the film Chocolat, based on the novel by Joanne Harris (the award was won by Julia Roberts for her role in Erin Brockovich).

In addition to her numerous motion picture roles, Binoche has starred on Broadway. She is the highest paid film actress in the history of France.

Binoche has two children, Raphael (with Andre Halle) and Hanna (with French actor Benoit Magimel).