Elena Yukhno was born in 1952 in Kiev, Ukraine. She grew up in a family of two professional artists; her father is a famous Ukrainian painter, Ivan Yukhno, and her mother was a local painter. Anna Gurevich, shared an art studio in Kiev. They gave Elena her first painting and drawing lessons, often took her with them to their art studio in Kiev.

Elena and her brother continued the family tradition. After studying at the Kiev School of Fine Art, Elena received her master's degree in painting at the National Ukrainian Academy of Arts.

After graduation, Elena worked as a painter and as a graphic artist exhibiting her artworks all over the Soviet Union. In 1992, Elena immigrated to Israel where she continued her artistic career. Elena focuses mainly on oil painting and she has numerous exhibitions in Israel and abroad.