Born Marie-Clémentine Valadon in Bessines-sur-Gartempe, France, she began her career as an artist's model for painters such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. She taught herself to draw and paint by observing the artists she modeled for, eventually gaining recognition for her own work in the late 19th century.

Valadon is recognized for her bold, unidealized depictions of the female form and her vibrant, expressive use of color. Her practice spanned portraiture, landscapes, and still lifes, often characterized by a firm, graphic line and a rejection of the academic conventions of her time.

In 1894, she achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first woman painter admitted to the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. She is also noted for her role as the mother of the painter Maurice Utrillo, whom she encouraged in his own artistic pursuits.