She was born María Carolina Josefina Pacanins y Niño on January 8, 1939, in Caracas, Venezuela, the daughter of Guillermo Pacanins Acevedo, then mayor of Caracas, and his wife, Marí Cristina Niño Passios.[1] Carolina's father also served in the Air Force and later served as Venezuela's Minister of Foreign Affairs.[2]

She has lived in New York since 1980.[3] Her clients include Renée Zellweger and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Herrera was the chief designer for the First Lady of the United States for 12 years.[4]

In 1957, she married Guillermo Behrens Tello. The couple had two daughters, Mercedes and Ana Luisa. They divorced in 1964.[5][2] In 1968, in Caracas, she married Reinaldo Herrera Guevara, a key project coordinator for Vanity Fair. This marriage produced Carolina Adriana and Patricia Cristina.[2][6] Herrera's connections allowed her to organize her debut fashion show at the Metropolitan Club in New York City in the early 1980s.[5]

In 2019, Carolina Herrera retired, and Wes Gordon took over as creative director of her fashion house.[7]