Regina Vater was born in 1943 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Her father was a physician, the grandson of an immigrant from Weimar, Germany who emigrated to Parai in the 19th century for the rubber business. Her mother was a poet from a family of Portuguese descent in the Northeast Region of Brazil. Vater grew up in Copacabana, Ipanema, just south of Rio. She found her love of art and poetry early in life, and although she had formal artistic training in her early teens, she did not identify with the academic approach her instructor took. Instead she found her own inspiration in her mother's eclectic library. There she read everything from Greek mythology and philosophy to Milton, from Vick Baum and Krishnamurti to American literature. With an interest in classical and contemporary literature and philosophy, she spent much of her early youth incorporating these themes into her art and poetry.

As Vater's father realized art was more than just a hobby, he attempted to steer her towards a future in a more stable profession: the medical field. Vater compromised and went to the National University of Rio to study architecture. She did not enjoy her time at school and continued to work on her artistic career. When Vater was presented with the opportunity to participate in her first show, she dropped out of architecture school and pursued art full-time.

In her youth, Vater was also heavily influenced by the Brazilian intelligentsia who made Ipanema their home. Vater would visit the bars and cafés the intelligentsia frequented and participate in the free exchange of ideas, culture, and art. She often refers to her time spent with the group of intellects as her "university." It was a time when she began to develop her own creative direction and voice.

Vater's first solo show in 1964 opened the doors to what would become a successful career. In the 1970s she worked as a freelance writer for several cultural magazines in and around Rio. She interviewed artists such as John Cage and Joseph Beuys who would later become friends and colleagues. In 1970 she held her first installation titled "Magi (the) CEAN" and also entered her photography collection in the Salon of Modern Art. In 1972 she won the award for the Travel Exhibition of Modern Art, which led her to her New York début in 1973.

For much of the early 1970s she lived in New York, Paris, London, and Lisbon before returning to Latin America in 1975. Back in Brazil, Vater continued her exploration in film installation, an interest she began during her time in Paris. She participated in numerous solo and group exhibits throughout Latin America, New York and Europe. In 1979, she débuted as a curator in New York in what was the first and most comprehensive Brazilian avant-garde exhibit in the city at that time. Following her success as a curator, Vater received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1980 and moved to New York where she continued to work on installations in photography, film, video, book art, and visual performance. Her work continued to bring Latin American art to the forefront of the American art scene. In 1985, she moved to Austin Texas where her husband was invited to teach at the University of Texas. Since then, Vater has participated in local shows such as the First Texas Triennial and has been involved in the prestigious Art Pace Foundation in San Antonio. She has lectured across the United States, Europe and Brazil and has taught classes and seminars on video art. Vater has produced videos for Austin Access Cable Television, all of which have been shown around the world. Her work and installations have been showcased in museums and galleries such as the Museum of Modern Art (New York); Bien de Sao Paolo; Figueiredo Gallery; the State Art Gallery and Museum of Modern Art (London); Avant Garde Festival; Woulf Rosenwald Gallery (Philadelphia); Mexic-Art Museum (Austin); and The Konimklljk Museum (Antwerp); among others.

Vater's installation work and poetry focuses on the dialogue between divine intervention and cultural manifestation. She is heavily influenced by her native Brazil. Themes revolving around Greek mythology and African-Brazilian mythologies play heavily into her work, as does metaphysical philosophy. While Vater has experimented in many different media throughout her lifetime, she is most known for her installation artwork.

Note on References: Much of the information on Vater's personal and professional life was drawn from an interview conducted by Cary Cordova for the Archives of American Art of the Smithsonian Institute on February 23 and 25, 2004.