Caterina Chinnici was born in Palermo; she graduated in law at 21 years old, she has been the youngest magistrate in Italy to be appointed as Chief Prosecutor of a Public Prosecutor´s Office. During her long career, she has served as Chief Public Prosecutor at Juvenile Court of Palermo, as member of the Commission for international adoptions and as member of the Central Organism for the protection of minors unaccompanied established by the Italian Minister of Interior.
In 2009, she has been a member of the Government of the Sicilian region, as a Councillor in charge of Family, Social Policies and Local Autonomy. In 2012, she headed the Department for Juvenile Justice of the Italian Ministry of Justice.
In May 2014 she was elected Member of the European Parliament. Here she is Co-Chair of the Children's rights intergroup, Vice Chair of the Delegation for relations with the countries of Central America, full member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, full member of the Special Committee on Terrorism and substitute member of the Committee on Budgetary Control.
During her mandate in the European Parliament, she was appointed rapporteur on the directive on procedural safeguards for children suspected or accused in criminal proceedings, shadow rapporteur on the directive on combating terrorism, shadow rapporteur on the report on prisons and system conditions, shadow rapporteur on the report on media pluralism and media freedom in the EU and shadow rapporteur on the report on the EU-LISA agency regulation.