Cecilia Mayr was born in Votuporanga, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on April 17, 1955. She studied art and philosophy, and earned her degree in cartoon animation in 1977. She worked with artist Pedro Sanchez and spent her first years out of school animating television commercials and comic books in Brazil. After traveling to Spain and Italy, Mayr moved to the United States. Living in Phoenix, Arizona, she spent five years working in graphic design before directing her full energy to painting. She began to work on watercolor and mono prints in a studio in downtown Phoenix and hasn't looked back. Her artwork has been shown in galleries in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and London.