Christopher Edley was born on 13 January 1953 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was married to Maria Echaveste, Tana and Sandy . He died on 10 May 2024 in Stanford, California, USA.
He received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Swarthmore College. He was admitted to Harvard and, after pausing his studies to work on Carter's 1976 presidential campaign, received a law degree and a master's degree in public policy.