Christopher Paolini was born November 17, 1983 in California. He was raised in Montana and still lives there. Paolini has one sibling, Angela.

He was homeschooled for his entire academic career. Christopher graduated high school at age 15. After graduating, Paolini started writing a fantasy book about mythical dragons that would be named Eragon. He also wrote a second book , titled Eldest, in the series containing the same mythological beings.

When the first book was finished, Christopher's family helped him start self-publishing the fantasy book. Paolini even did the cover art of the first edition. It featured a close-up of Saphira's eye. He drew maps of his imaginary world inside the book covers. Paolini toured schools and libraries talking about reading and writing while dressed up in a medieval styled costume. Christopher's break came when a student at one of the schools he visited showed the book to his stepdad, who was a writer. The writer, Carl Hiaasen, was so impressed that he introduced the book to his publisher.

Knopf, a division of Random House publishing, offered to buy Eragon and the rest of the books in the series, called the Inheritance trilogy. Knopf published the second edition in 2003. Christopher Paolini had become a New York Times best-selling author while still a teenager. Both books hit the #1 spot on the New York Times best-sellers list. Eragon has been made into a movie and there are rumors of Eldest also coming to film.