Arantxa Echevarría Carcedo was born in 1968 in Bilbao. She earned a degree in image sciences and a specialization in audiovisual production from the Complutense University of Madrid, and continued her studies at Sydney Community College. Since 1991 she has worked in film and television.

Her short film "De noche y de pronto" was nominated for a Goya Award for Best Fictional Short Film.

Her feature debut "Carmen & Lola" (2018) earned her the Goya Award for Best New Director — after the age of fifty. It was followed by her second feature film "The Perfect Family" (2021). She also directed one episode of the first season of "El Cid." In 2022 she began shooting her third feature film, "Chinas."