Christakos was born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario. Christakos received her B.F.A. in Visual Arts from York University in 1985. She lived in Montreal from 1985 to 1987, settling in Toronto in 1988. She went on to pursue an M.A. in Education from OISE in the History and Philiosophy of Education in 1995. Christakos held a teaching position at OCAD from 1992-1997. From 2004-2005 she was the University of Windsor's Canada Council writer in residence. Additionally, she worked under PEN Canada in the political interests of exiled writers and has contributed to numerous poetry publications and events. She was an editor with Fireweed, with Women's Education des femmes, and with MIX: the magazine of artist-run culture. She currently works with students through the Writers In Electronic Residence (WIER) program and The University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies. She has published seven collections of poetry and a novel, numerous chapbooks and has appeared in a diverse range of literary journals and anthologies.

Many writers have influenced Christakos' appreciation of literature. She has mentioned Nicole Brossard, Marguerite Duras, Daphne Marlatt, and Kathy Acker, among others.

Christakos writes about the fluid and intersecting lines of sexuality and identity. In addition, she explores gender and motherhood in her work. She has shown an interest in recombinant poetics as well as in autobiography's formal and social concerns.