Her parents had separated by the time she was two. When her mother remarried, she and her brother David, moved to Wilmette, Illinois. There she grew up in the suburbs and graduated from New Trier High School.
She was an English major at Brandeis University. In her junior year she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and went on to graduate summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and American literature in 1974. She became a President's Councilor of her alma mater in 1978. After college she wanted to pursue journalism or law, but started working at Playboy as an intermediate step. After being with the company for 5 years and moving up to the position of Vice President, she applied to the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program. She was turned down because she was too young.
In 1988 she became Chairman & Chief Executive Officer for Playboy Enterprises Inc., and she still holds this position. She created the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award in honor of her father.
She married former Illinois state senator William A. Marovitz, real estate developer and attorney.
In the television situation comedy Just Shoot Me, the character portrayed by Laura San Giacomo is allegedly modeled on Christie Hefner. Also, since May 2005, she's been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post.
