Mali Chaniotaki was born in Piraeus and her family comes from Sfakia. She studied painting at the Vakalo School under Panayiotis Tetsis and Giannis Valavanidis.

At the same time, she attended drawing classes under Thanasis Stefopoulos. In 1979, following her graduation, she moved to Heraklion. She has presented her work in group and solo exhibitions.